Still Here
by ToyotaShadowCelica
Summary: Shadow Carlisle is a young CHROME agent with Finn McMissile as her mentor. Wren Goodyear is the Head Medic at CHROME with no sense of humour. This is their story. Vehicle versions, some shipping later on.
1. Chapter 1

**Date: December 23rd 2011**

 **Location: Port of Manzanillo, Cuba**

When people talk about secret agents, they often refer to the likes of James Bond, a fictional character that is the very definition of cool, calm, suave and sophisticated. The films and books that center around these non-stop, all action beings make the life seem exciting and dramatic, full of adventure, fast car chases and constant bomb disposal, always on the go, all whilst shrouded in a blanket of mystery. Who are they really? What did they do in their spare time? Anyone who aspired to be an agent often recalled these idols in their mind. That was surely what it meant to be an agent? Those were certainly the thoughts that passed through the mind of a young Toyota Celica, who was currently crouched as low as she possibly dared behind a large metal shipping crate, awaiting instructions from her mentor whom was some way ahead, scouting the area. If everyone really knew how mundane most days were, even on mission... would half of the agents even sign up? These weren't the reasons she herself signed up to be a CHROME agent, but upon these quiet moments, she often took the time to think about more... 'the meaning of life' questions. It kept her mind turning when there was really nothing else to focus on. She began turning her thoughts to how the dynamics of the job were to change should the films show what it was mostly like, when the black Celica dropped back to reality, as a sudden noise caused her to jump.

 **"Carlisle! Do you read?"** Came the voice over her radio, and the sound caused her to blink rapidly, trying to quickly process what she had originally been told to do.

 **"Oh, right, yes, s-sorry!"** She stammered a little, clearing her throat nervously. She glanced around at her surroundings, seeing that the silvery blue Faultless had travelled even further ahead, just about spotting him use his grappling hooks to hoist himself up to the top of a lookout platform about 10ft high. It was the Celica's first official mission, having graduated a few months ago in fact. Most of her working days so far had been filled with training continuously, testing reflexes, endurance and knowledge in every sense, until the young agent was mentally and physically exhausted. Her mentor and mission partner, none other than Finn McMissile, was often put on the more dangerous missions, and there was no other way to ensure that the Toyota would be up to the task. She had been more than willing however, because to be the best, you had to put in the work and keep up with the best. Leland hadn't brought her to CHROME just to give up... to let go of what he'd done for her just because she found the going a little tough. She now lived on in his memory, taking his place as the one to help Finn bring down the criminally insane, as it were. She couldn't let neither Finn or Leland down...

 **"Do a rotation around to the left, make sure to keep your guard Shadow. I will keep watch from up here... it looks safe for the moment, but be careful Carlisle"** Came Finn's voice through her radio. She gave a nod, despite the fact he probably couldn't see it, glancing up to his position.

 **"Roger that..."** Shadow responded, now refocusing her mind to the task at hand. Cuba was always known for being deceitfully rich in criminal activity, and places like this were quite often the agents' bread and butter. It was ideal to get Shadow into the routine of what it took to be an agent, though they had been here for three days so far and all they had really done was scout out the best places to watch from. But only earlier, they had received reports of suspicious activity near their location, with instructions to infiltrate and potentially shut down the operation. Their main target was a white 1969 Chevrolet Camaro, Ross Cherokee, a well-known criminal to CHROME, most famous for money and identity fraud... if you wanted something, he knew how to get it, no matter how illegal. Shadow now made her way through the port, little by little, keeping her left side covered by the giant canisters that towered above her, offering yet more darkness in the dead of night.

Shadow's black paint blended well, so it was decided early on that she would carry out checks on the ground, seeing as most of their active searching was during night. Shouts could now be heard some way in the distance, the Faultless turning his attention away from his partner to hide back a little from view, whilst attempting to get an idea as to where the voices where coming from. The Celica froze as the shouts seemed to get closer, but then further away again. She was surrounded by crates, with no way of knowing what was truly going on and this in itself frustrated her. She knew she had to remain still until further instruction came from Finn, though with him unable to appear without being spotted, it suddenly became a little more desperate. It was therefore the reason she made the decision to move whilst Finn wasn't watching out for her, making her own way through the jagged pathways, pausing and speeding up at the right moments to avoid detection. A single light seemed to sweep the area, controlled no doubt by Ross's followers to watch for intruders, and she used this as her pivot, winding round, though still keeping to the left. Whenever the light swung round and lit up the containers she was using as refuge, she had to duck quickly, staying motionless until the impending danger had passed before moving once again. She was now the other side to where Finn had last seen her, so when the Faultless once again appeared on his platform, he could immediately see that Shadow had gone, a flood of uncertainty creasing his features.

 **"Carlisle, where are you? What's your position?"** He asked, his eyes scanning the pathways rapidly, hoping to catch a glimpse of her golden pinstripes. There came no reply on the radio, and this caused him to become worried. Where was she? He radioed again, looking to his mirror as he did so as if that would hold some kind of answer. To his surprise however, it did, having caught her reflection for just a fleeting moment. From the height that he was at, it didn't take long to turn and locate her once more, intending to scold her for moving when she shouldn't have. However, his voice never left his throat. He could now see why the young agent hadn't responded, and it made his oil run cold. For three feet in front of the Celica, stood Ross himself. The young agent was already faced with a wanted criminal, whom was not above murder, on her first mission, and despite all her training the Faultless knowing this couldn't end well. Shadow felt her heart drumming hard in her undercarriage as she watched the Chevrolet carefully. Both cars were motionless, almost as if weighing each other up... any wrong move could render the Celica no better off than a cube of crushed metal. Finn himself took a moment to recover, before frowning, his voice calling out to his fellow agent.

 **"Hold on Shadow, I'm coming!** " He yelled, pushing forward immediately, wheels spinning and flying right off the edge of his post, using his grappling hooks to use as a swing to get himself there as quick as possible. Ross heard the call aswell, glancing up to Finn in mild surprise, though it seemed he had half anticipated that this young agent he now faced would have assistance. It seemed in that moment he decided that two agents were too much for him to face alone, turning with impressive speed and racing away, his engine growling loudly as he did so. Shadow was then left with a split second decision. To give chase, or wait for Finn. If she chose the latter, then there was a good chance of not catching this guy, not without facing all his goons first, and from what they had seen, there were plenty of them. Shadow gunned her own engine now, kicking up dust and smoke as she propelled herself onward, in pursuit of the fleeing Camaro. Finn landed upon the floor harshly, sparks flying from his wheel arches as they grazed the floor, though paid no mind as he tried to race to where he had seen Shadow. It took him a few moments, though as he rounded the corner he was met with an empty space instead of the Celica, his wheels locking as he braked hard, wildly looking around to see where the two cars had vanished to. It very soon became apparent she had chased him to the very tops of the stacked shipping containers, racing after him and dodging anything the Camaro threw at her. It would have been rather impressive... should it not have been 20ft in the air with the whole port seemingly watching.

 **"Shadow! Stand down! Now!"** Came the abrupt instruction from Finn, though Shadow paid no heed... imagine how it would feel to have bagged a criminal on her first mission! Excitement pushed her faster, trying her best to catch up with the criminal, her mind racing and wildly stringing together a perfect story. She'd be recognised at the best rookie CHROME had ever trained... perhaps even a raise, recognition... it couldn't fail! With this idealistic vision in her head, she pushed on, though with her thoughts elsewhere, she once again failed to see what was around her. The edges of the containers now approached, and with Ross sensing the agent not fully paying attention, he braked harshly and used his back end to swing out, spinning and taking off in the opposite direction. Not used to this move, Shadow had to also brake hard, though her tires didn't grip as well on the shiny surface of the metal. She finally came to a halt a few centimetres from the edge, staring down at a vast drop before her, her front tires pushing her away from the edge frantically. Behind her came the snigger of the Chevrolet, as she whipped round to see him facing her once more.

 **"What's the matter darlin'? Afraid of a lil' height are we?"** He mocked, moving toward her as she realized that he had a gun in both front hubcaps. She swallowed a little as she backed up, though one of her back tires lost ground as she moved a little too far. She pulled herself away, though was now stuck between death and... well, death. Her own gun appeared from her side, a frown on her face as she watched Ross.

 **"Back off! You don't know who you're dealing with!"** She growled at him, only causing the Camaro to laugh.

 **"Oh darlin', you ain't threatenin' anyone... not at all. In actual fact I know full well who I'm dealin' with, I've heard the Carlisles' are missin' you... best get back to them sweetheart"** He sneered with a wink, causing Shadow to only become more angry. Finn by this point had found his way up, now appearing behind Ross, though he was still some way back.

 **"Give it up Cherokee... It's over!"** Finn yelled, his own gun aimed at the opponent. Ross could see the anger written in the Celica's face, playing off this anger as he laughed at her once more.

 **"You don't have what it takes... give up and go home, Silly-Car"** He mocked the pronunciation of her model now, which caused her eyes to widen a little, before a deep scowl returned.

 **"Oh really?"** She snarled, tapping her tire lightly before swinging it at him. He dodged easily, laughing at her now.

 **"Wow, was that it?** " He snickered, before noting her grin.

 **"Ahh no... No it wasn't"** She smirked, before glancing to the small disk-like bomb that now blinked at his tires. Within seconds he had reversed away, heading straight toward Finn, whom seemed ready to detain him by any means, attacking Ross with a swift hit to the bumper. Ross himself was now trapped, trying to deflect Finn's assault with his show of weaponry, though Finn very soon disarmed him. Shadow rolled forward in anticipation, caught up in the excitement of the chase and the capture. They were going to do it! A clicking noise suddenly seemed to reach her, causing the Celica to frown in confusion for a moment. What was that noise? It was then she realized with horror that in her excitement, she had rolled right over and activated the very bomb she had planted. She glanced down, seeing the red flashes increase, before bolting backwards, back tires slipping back off the edge of the container she was upon. Finn suddenly seemed to come to the realization after hearing the noise himself, and whipped his hood round in horror at the scene before him.

 _ **"SHADOW!"**_ Came the shout, just as the Celica made the choice to throw herself off the edge to try and escape the blast that erupted before her. However, the act was not as successful as she had hoped, heat and pain blistering through her as the blast half engulfed the car. Moments later, she was plummeting, faster and faster toward the sea, before... nothing. 

* * *

**Date: December 24th 2011**

 **Location: CHROME Headquarters – Medical Bay**

 **"Alright, you ready for the next drama? Finn McMissile has only gone and blown up his new mission partner"**

 **"…What?"**

 **"Yeah! That's what the incoming report says! Well, more that she blew herself up I guess, but still…"**

 **"Oh for gods sake, outta my way Phil"**

The Medical Quarters of CHROME were a sudden bustle of activity, as nurses hurried round to prepare the emergency surgery room for its next incoming patient. Medical emergencies at CHROME were common, seeing as agents couldn't really be sent to normal hospitals… they were covered in weaponry and the slight movement of the wrong thing depending on what was damaged could result in something far more catastrophic. The head Medic, Wren Goodyear, was known as an abrupt and 'cut-the-crap' kind of plane, an ex-navy Super Corsair that had no time for nonsense or idle chat. To run an entire wing of CHROME consisted of time and effort, especially when agents like this one insisted on dealing with explosives on a regular basis. The blue and white Corsair now moved out of her office with a hurried pace, the small cream Mini Cooper scurrying to her side, reading further from the paperwork he had attached to his clipboard.

 **"Turns out that she'd taken a dip after the explosion… Ol' McMissile fished her out and sent out an SOS call, though it seems he escaped any injury himself. Told us the poor girl actually regained consciousness on the plane, so she's awake, but incoherent to say the least"** The Mini carried on as both vehicles turned into the long corridor that led to most of the patient rooms. Up ahead, a medical tow truck was pulling along a car draped in a dark olive coloured blanket, an ideal way to conceal the injured whilst being taken through the main lobby of CHROME. Wren picked up her speed and entered the room as other doctors swarmed round the newcomer, before shooing them out of her way with a flick of her wings. The cover was lifted from the car to reveal substantial exterior damage, causing a couple of the nurses to grimace a little. Wren, however, gave nothing away. She had seen far worse, and this was just another work day for her. The Celica indeed had her eyes open, though her gaze was unfocused, looking to her hood with a saddened expression whilst Finn seemed to appear somewhere behind Wren, watching his new partner in worry.

 **"Alright, what have we got here?"** Wren muttered to herself, working her way round the car to assess where to start. Scorch marks were visible on Shadow's right side, to the degree that the buckled and now misshapen metal was showing through the paint. Her right light had smashed, and there was water damage to the inside. Her hood had wrinkled a little from hitting the water so hard, so who knew what kind of damage had been done to the inside. It took a moment for Shadow to unlock her hood when instructed, so the internal damage could be assessed now.

 **"Ok, suspected broken axle, snapped battery cable, damaged ignition box, broken radiator, broken roll cage, brakes are busted, Oil pipes burst, NOT to mention any kind of water damage…"** Wren began listing, Phil nodding as he wrote it all down. Shadow only listened on, her gaze flicking occasionally to Finn, perhaps for reassurance, before Wren shut her hood again.

 **"…And of course, concussion"** There was a moments silence that seemed to greet the room as it sunk in just how much damage had been done. Wren turned to the Mini and began murmuring equipment she needed to him, each one followed by a firm nod as he registered what was required.

 **"So… is it bad?"** Came the feeble voice of the Celica after a few moments, causing the Corsair to turn and stare at the car for a moment.

 **"….No you're the picture of health"** Was the response, before a tray was brought forward with a rather large needle place upon it. Shadow eyed it worryingly before Wren picked it up using an installed device on her wing, causing the Celica to try and start her engine, moving her back tires in a pushing motion to the side. Finn rolled forward a little to attempt to stop the action before Wren noticed.

 **"You'll need to keep still"**

 **"-Isn't there something else you can use… please?"** Shadow fretted, her engine turning over and grinding, though the Celica didn't seem to care.

 **"…Are you actually being serious? You just blew yourself up… with a bomb no less, and you're worried about this little thing?"** Wren pointedly looked to the needle.

 **"Excuse me but it's hardly little"**

 **"Excuse me but I need to jab this into your head now keep still"**

The Celica seemed to still refused, ducking away and trying to move her hood toward the other direction, adamant she was not to have the jab. Wren's expression only grew more exasperated before Finn stepped in, using his tire to gently push Shadow's hood in place.

 **"You need this done Carlisle, stop resisting"** He told her gently, before she glanced to him once more. She seemed to relent finally, allowing the medic to find the joint between her main frame and her door, tensing as the needle broke the surface. Once it was over, the Celica felt she could breathe again, though whatever it was, it was affecting her within the first few minutes.

 **"How much… anaesthetic was in that?"** Shadow asked wearily, swaying just a little on her tires.

 **"Oh… enough to floor a Boeing 777"** Wren replied matter-of-factly, causing the Celica to widen her eyes. Finn only smiled at the exchange, sitting back a little now to watch over them both.

 **"WHAT?!"**

 **"Well, we need to make sure you don't wake up when we put you into an entirely new body… how does a tractor sound?"** Wren smirked a little, causing the Celica to panic.

 **"NO that sounds horrific! You better…. Better not…"** She began to slip on her wheels, blinking slowly.

 **"Ahhh OK… Bulldozer it is"** Wren smiled, almost sweetly, before Shadow squeezed her eyes shut and shook her hood.

 **"Fight me…"** She murmured, finally being taken back into the dark depths of sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Date: December 25th 2011 – 07:24 AM**

 **Location: CHROME Headquarters – Medical Bay**

 _ **"You can't hide forever Shadow! I know you're here… and no matter where you go… no matter how fast you drive… I will always find you… A mother knows her children very well… And once I find you… I'll kill you"**_

 _ **"Shadow!"**_

 **"Shadow!"**

The Celica's eyes snapped open with a bolt, her breathing laboured as her heart thumped hard in her undercarriage, the haunting words still fresh in her mind. It took only a moment of distressed panic before she noticed that the Head Medic was about two inches from her face, staring at her eyes with a slight squint.

 **"Hey! Finally! The bomb disposal expert is awake!"** Came the voice of Wren, who seemed to smirk at her own bad joke before she sauntered off to another part of the room, poking around at various instruments.

 **"How's life as a tow truck?"** She seemed to ask innocently, before Shadow gave her a panicked stare.

 **"A-a what?"** The agent nearly squeaked, glancing down to her hood and checking herself over, relieved somewhat to see that she was still in Celica form. The Corsair seemed to snigger, rousing a scowl from the Toyota as she looked toward her doctor with a certain degree of annoyance.

 **"Aww come on don't look like that. You'd look great as a tow truck. They say if you frown too much your face stays that way, and I, with many professional years experience under my wings can officially assure you…. It's true. Lighten up, you look like you swallowed a bee"**

This seemed to pass over the Celica, whom would usually have a form of comeback or smart witted response, though with her yet again disturbed sleep, she could feel the fear of her pre-Academy days creeping back in. More often than not, the Celica suffered with chronic nightmares, so real and vivid she could wake up crying… and it hadn't gone un-noticed. When the Toyota had run away from her home, she was on the move constantly, never staying in the same place. Leland had taken her pretty much straight to the Academy from there, to which she then stayed in the dorms. After she graduated however, the Celica had found herself homeless, no place to physically call her own.

It had been at this point that Finn stepped forward, graciously offering her to stay with him until she found better accommodation. She had gratefully accepted, and being put together for most missions, it seemed a whole lot easier. It wasn't long after Shadow had moved in that the Faultless finally witnessed her night terrors, often waking her up in the dead of night to stop her screaming and assure her she was fine. It was this reason that Finn gave as to why Shadow wasn't ready to leave yet… she wasn't at peace with her past and he was worried. Shadow put up no fight, after all, she had come to see his home as hers now… she didn't feel like she wanted to leave just yet.

The Medic seemed to note that the car wasn't going to respond, before pursing her lips in thought, though came up with no reasonable thing to say without insulting the Toyota further. Though that was often the fun part.

 **"We fixed most the damage that we could, well, I did. Phil stood there and complained whilst helping. You know what, screw him, he did nothing."** The plane spoke again, moving to a tabletop to the side of the room, where it became evident she was making tea. Always helpful in a crisis.

 **"Couldn't really do much for your stripes. Though they're an… interesting fashion choice. You actually kinda look like a bee. Was that intentional? Aww… you're a little bumbling bee. Finn must be so proud. His little Bumble"** Wren seemed to coo, earning a pout from Shadow.

 **"Does the Head Medic always stay in the room? Got no other patients to belittle?"** Shadow seemed to ask at this point, eyeing the tea herself now and shifting her weight a little.

 **"No. I'm on strict instructions to make sure you don't die and given your track record, you are a beacon for attracting death"**

 **"Wow… reassuring"**

 **"Luckily for you I have perfect stats… apart from those four deaths this morning. Best count that hemorrhage the other day too… Do you think they look to see if I've mis-diagnosed anyone?"** Wren now smirked once more, turning her face away from the wide eyed Celica. It seemed the plane was having fun winding the car up, though it was all about to come back to hit the Corsair as Shadow began to play a little game of her own.

 **"What's it like being a medic?"** The Celica asked now, allowing Wren to glance at her from across the room.

 **"Well if you really want to know-"**

 **"Does it feel horrible sometimes? To know that everyone is counting on you to do miracles that perhaps are beyond your reach? To watch the life drain from someones eyes as you lose them?"** Shadow continued, looking up to the ceiling with a perfectly reasonable tone to her voice.

 **"Tsk, if you're trying to rattle my cage Bumble, it's not going to work-"**

 **"What about being a nurse? Were you a nurse first"**

 **"I studied to be-"**

 **"Ok then do you cut cars open a lot?"**

 **"On a good day-"**

 **"Do you deal with the jets here too? They're pretty big they wouldn't fit in here"**

 **"…Yes…"**

 **"Do you actually LIKE being a medic?"**

 **"Yes"**

 **"Is it tricky being a plane doctor"**

 **"No"**

 **"Are cups hard to pick up?"**

 **"..."**

 **"Oh! What's that?"**

 **"Stethoscope"**

 **"And that?"**

 **"Scales"**

 **"What about that"**

 **"Carlisle, that's a kettle"**

 **"What would happen if your stats dipped? Would you get fired? Demoted? What happens when you can't see what's wrong with someone? Have you ever killed anyone-"**

 **"OkayokayOKAY alright enough!"** The Corsair ended up responding, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

 **"Have some tea and shut up alright?"** Wren added, deciding that throwing some form of distraction at the Celica was the best idea right now. Shadow, now a little happier, used her tires to nudge her cup toward her, wriggling a little in success. Wren threw a small scowl at the Celica and stood pouting for a few moments, not sure how she was just beaten.

 **"Oh, and uh… I'll make you a deal"** Shadow looked up from her cup, watching the Corsair with amused eyes. Wren looked suspiciously toward the car, squinting one eye slightly.

 **"….Go on"**

 **"If you split those nice digestives you have hidden in that cupboard up there with me… I won't ruin your perfect stats okay? I'll pull through each time"** The Celica smiled a little smugly to the plane, who frowned in confusion.

 **"How did you know about those?"**

 **"Agents secret, I can never ever tell anyone ever. Plus they are poorly hidden, come on. I can literally see them"**

Wren seemed to flick her eyes up to the cupboard, before moving to stand a little more in front of it.

 **"Can you see them now?"** She asked, to which Shadow shook her hood.

 **"Okay… What biscuits are you on about Carlisle?!"** Wren now spoke in a loud voice, no doubt for the benefit of any passers-by, causing Shadow to smile again. Wren took another sigh, pulling them down and rolling toward the Celica.

 **"Fine, just don't get me fired. And don't tell Phil. He doesn't know I keep food in here and I will have to face surprise inspections whenever he pleases…. They are not fun and DON'T put me there"** She warned the small car, though there were the vaguest hints of a smile. This little car was clever. For a car.

 **15:06PM**

 **"-Though I'll admit, it was many years ago. We were both young and perhaps filled with a little too much adventure… Though he soon repaid the favour and saved my own life. Since then, we were good friends"**

 **"I could tell he thought fondly of you… He used to tell me about some of the missions you two had been on, and all the trouble you two also caused"**

Finn took this moment to laugh a little, his hook shaking as he seemed to put on a brave face, looking away a little.

 **"Ah yes… there was plenty of trouble. Though that was a long time ago now"**

After their _'deal'_ , Wren had announced that Shadow was not to be discharged until she said so, and this meant that she wasn't to leave the room. This had caused Shadow to become bitterly disappointed, though Wren swiftly reminded her that she had still blown herself up, and that was no easy recovery. Before Wren had left for a while, Shadow had complained that the place wasn't at all in the spirit of Christmas, which had earned a brief sigh, though it had clearly run in Wrens mind as she popped back 10 minutes later to throw a wreath and tinsel at the car before vanishing again. Shortly after, Finn had appeared to see how Shadow was doing, having settled down to talk to her and not moved since. The conversation was now about Leland, and it was clear that his death was still effecting them both.

 **"I never really… got a chance to show him what I could do. I never got to show him that… he was right in rescuing me… I owe him so much, without him I would have… well, I would have died"** Shadow continued, the gravity of what her situation was like still pressing down on her. She looked to her hood and wallowed for a moment, a concerned gaze appearing on Finn's face.

 **"You didn't need to show him… he already knew. He saw that within you when he found you…. And I saw it too."** Finn spoke gently, watching her carefully. She glanced up gently, before smiling weakly to the other, appreciating his words. It was here the door slammed open, making Shadow jump, as Wren rolled in, mumbling something under her breath regarding sparklers and the regions of a car which you would not want to put said sparklers.

 **"Wow… what's got your prop in a twist?"** Shadow asked with a small smile, both the cars now watching Wren.

 **"Oh, some morons going on about the New Years Eve party next week. I'd sooner infect myself with mad-Tractor disease"** The Corsair scoffed , though Shadow's eyes lit up.

 **"New Years Eve party? We should go!"** Shadow now grinned, looking between Finn and Wren.

 **"Ummm.. No"** Wren replied, turning away as she assessed yet another of the Celica's charts.

 **"…. Why not? I've not been to a function here yet… and seeing as I'm missing the Christmas gathering…"** Shadow trailed off, seeing if the Corsair had any feelings. Turned out, she probably didn't.

 **"Hey, that's your fault. Learn how to use a bomb properly like a real agent and stop driving into them and you might get to go"**

 **"Hmm….. Hey Finn you see that top cupboard up there?"**

 **"I swear to Chrysler if one more word comes out of your mouth then I'm stitching it shut."**

 **"That's no way to talk to a patient"**

 **"You're not a patient, you are my karma for anything I've done wrong in a past life"**

 **"You're rude"**

 **"Your face is rude"**

The two vehicles watched each other intently for a moment, whilst the older agent kept a smile on his face, content with not getting involved.

 **"We're gonna go to this party"**

 **"No, we're not. There's no 'we', Bumble"**

 **"Don't call me that"**

 **"I'll do what I want. What are you gonna do? Pollinate?"**

Shadow seemed to stop here, glancing around her. She was pretty used to dealing with sarcasm, being rather good at it herself, though she knew Wren was a whole new league, so decided that she would have to have a different comeback. She noted that on her little side table, was a rather lovely looking vase… It didn't take too much effort to use her tire to slowly push at it, all the while maintaining eye contact with the doctor.

 **"What are you doing?"**

 **"Nothing"**

 **"I can clearly see you're pushing that vase"**

 **"Then, duh, why did you ask me?"**

Wren's rudder twitched in annoyance, before she sucked in a breath.

 **"Ok, well… stop"**

 **"…What are you gonna do? Jab me with more needles? You've already done that, think of something new already"**

It was only seconds later there was a smash heard as the vase tipped over the edge and hit the floor, the sound echoing through the room. There was a silence that followed as both car and plane stared at the mess on the floor.

 **"Mature"**

 **"Well I didn't like your interior design"**

 **"That doesn't mean you break all my stuff"**

 **"It's not your stuff, it's in my room"**

 **"Oh for the love of-what are you doing now?"**

 **"Well I don't like the look of these drawers with all the expensive equipment on it"**

 **"… Fine I'll go to your stupid party"**

 **"You mean it?"**

 **"…Sure"**

 **"Swear on your oath as a doctor"**

It was at this point that Wren flicked her gaze to Finn, as if to confirm she was really being forced into doing it. Finn gave a casual smile and shrugged his tires out a little in response, looking back to Shadow with an amused expression.

 **"…..Ok fine. I swear on my oath as a doctor. Happy? Ok and you can stop jumping up and down too, you're going to upset the machinery"**

The Celica gave a satisfied grin to her mentor now, who could only shake his hood in response as she settled back down again. No doubt Wren would want her back on the road as soon as possible… patients weren't usually this tricky to deal with on a social level.

 **21:42 PM**

Occasional merry shouts could be heard throughout CHROME's main building, some of these filtering through to the Medical Bay at which Shadow was still contained in, her hood perking up a little as she heard them. Finn and Wren were still in the room with the Celica, though Finn had now positioned himself next to her and Wren was fiddling with some of the dials on Shadow's monitors. The Celica had been silent for some time, glancing to Finn for a moment.

 **"Why don't you go home... you look tired"** Shadow said to him gently, which caused a smile to appear.

 **"I'm here to keep you company… and to ensure you two stay out of trouble"** He replied, which earned a snort from Wren.

 **"But it's Christmas Finn! Surely you have… others to be around?"** She pressed gently, not wanting to upset anyone, though he only shook his hood.

 **"Being an agent is a dangerous line of work Carlisle, I can't afford to keep anyone close"**

This made her gaze drop, feeling a sense of sadness wash over her. She glanced to the Corsair now, wondering if it was the same story for her.

 **"I can't imagine being a Medic is a particularly life threatening job"** She commented, causing Wren to glance over.

 **"It's not. But it's how I met my husband"** She answered, perhaps giving more away than she wanted to. Shadow blinked a couple of times, staring at Wren.

 **"You have a husband?"**

 **"Why is that surprising?"**

 **"Well… you're here. You should be with him, It's Christmas day!"** The Celica pointed out. Wren didn't seem to answer straight away, instead, turning to once again turn on the kettle that she had brought into the room.

 **"He's not here"** She answered simply, causing the Celica to look away. She was unsure about pressing any further, until Wren spoke again.

 **"He's overseas. America actually. We don't see each other a huge amount, but that's to be expected. We met in the Navy after all."** Wren continued, causing Shadow to glance up in interest.

 **"I was just a trainee when I met him. He was all busted up after being shot at and crashing into the sea… I'm willing to bet he was given to me cause he was such a pain in the ass to deal with. Still, no matter how grumpy or miserable he was… I was there to look after him. I suppose after a while he just kinda grew on me."** Wren now explained, avoiding the gaze of the car. She finally heard the kettle click and went back to saying nothing, fussing about with tea bags as Shadow lowered herself on her tires, so she was more touching the floor. She watched in surprise as a cup slid in front of her, Wren nodding a little as she backed away after. The Celica couldn't help but notice the biscuits on the side again, knowing they were the same ones from earlier, causing her to smile a little. With the warmth of the room setting in, she wriggled a little to get comfortable.

 **"Well… this has been the best Christmas so far"** Shadow sighed, a smile on her face. Both Finn and Wren looked to her with a slight frown, before Wren snorted.

 **"You have rather low standards don't you? You're in Medical strapped up to about 4 machines"**

 **"Maybe so… but I have biscuits and I have company… I spent most of my childhood being gutted for parts and spending Christmas huddled in a corner fearing for my life… I'd much rather have this"** She spoke gently, blowing in her tea a little. Wren tensed on these words, having not thought about what kind of background that Shadow was from, looking to the Celica in slight question.

 **"You uh… really went through a lot… didn't you"** Wren said softly after a few minutes of silence, her ailerons twitching a little. Shadow glanced up to Wren and smiled gently.

 **"It made me who I am… And I've now met some really decent friends… For once I'm not alone"**

 **"Hm… you're a strange one Bumble"**

 **"Tsk… at least try to call me Shadow. Shads if you must, Dr Goodyear."**

 **"Hm… I'll think about it"**

 **"And what should I call you? Doc? Doctor? Goodyear?"**

 **"Wren… Just call me Wren"**


	3. Chapter 3

**Date: December 31st 2011**  
 **Location: CHROME Headquarters – Lobby**

The party was in full swing, small groups of cars gathered in respective corners, with some milling around the 'dancefloor', which was basically wooden panelling put together, others were actually dancing and laughing, a large noise of chatter in the air. The music was at a decent volume, enough to carry atmosphere, but not so that you were deafened in the process, which allowed for easy conversation, but also a great distraction. Shadow was bristling with excitement, having not been allowed to one of these exclusive parties until she had graduated, and given her past, she had hardly dared to ask for a birthday party. The Celica had indeed managed to drag her new reluctant friend with her, whom was sat in the corner pouting a little as she glowered at anyone that came near.

 **"Wren, lighten up… _You_ look like you've swallowed a wasp!"** Shadow mocked lightly, referring to Wren's earlier joke a few days ago.

 **"Ha. Haha. You're funny."** Wren scowled a little, looking away to the wall. Shadow seemed to smirk a little, before she decided to make her way round the room. Everyone was aware of what family she was from, though due to being either in training or hospital, the Toyota had not yet had a chance to bond with anyone other than Finn and Wren, whom of course was forced into it for fear of her biscuits. Finn was also there, though he was speaking rather quietly with some other older agents, so Shadow decided to refrain from intruding. She scanned the room, looking for her first easy interaction… it couldn't be that hard, right? Shadow had vaguely known some of the other recruits that she had graduated with, seeing a small group now, along with what she guessed to be their experienced partners. She rolled over slowly, a smile on her face.

 **"Hey guys… Great party right?"** Shadow motioned to the room. They had all stopped talking when she approached, looking to one another in concern slightly.

 **"Yeah… it's pretty average actually"** A female Citreon answered, looking to her with a bored expression.

 **"Pff yeah, I mean, everyone here is twice our age, what kind of fun is that? Why would anyone be excited to come here?"** A male Lexus sniggered now, causing Shadow to smile nervously.

 **"Well… it's not that bad… I've seen worse after all"** Shadow gave a nervous laugh to lighten the suddenly dimming atmosphere.

 **"Oh right, yeah cause of your oh-so tragic past"** The Citreon spoke again, a slight smirk on her face. It earned a snicker from the others that were there, and Shadow shrank a little on her tires.

 **"Hey, I heard she ran screaming, like a child! No wonder she was so easy to find again!"** The Lexus laughed, causing the others to laugh along too. Shadow's gaze drifted to them all, backing up a little. Their taunting tones made her look away now, feeling rather hurt by it. She backed up and made a small excuse, before rolling away. She had always considered her lucky for escaping the horrors she did… and she had never actually told anyone about her past, everyone had only really found out through word of mouth. But now… it appeared that it was her past that was being used against her still. She felt a little rejected at that point, glancing over to Finn, who was still deeply engrossed in conversation. Familiar feelings of insecurity began to plague her, infecting her mind as she watched the agents around her. She wasn't that much of a black sheep… was she? She tried to look for more experienced Agents now, ones that perhaps wouldn't hold her past against her. She approached two other groups, and although they were not as cruel as the first, there was certainly an air of discomfort, as they avoided eye contact and gave one word answers.  
Defeated, the Celica dropped her hood to floor level, taking a slow drive back to where Wren was standing, whom upon being left alone, was attacking the free food. One glance told the Corsair everything she needed to know.

 **"What's wrong with your face… I can't fix that"** Wren finally spoke, after pausing her constant abuse on the food. Shadow seemed to keep her eyes on the floor, her tires rubbing it a little to provide some kind of distraction to herself.

 **"N-Nothing. I just don't think… making friends is for me"** She admitted, glancing up to the Corsair in perhaps a little too much hope. Wren missed this look however, and carried on her usual 'I-don't-care' image.

 **"Tch, Why do you want the approval of others? Friends are just draining and annoying"**

 **"Aren't we friends?"**

 **"… You are annoying. I rest my case. Anyway, as much as it's been….. truly wonderful to be here, I must be off"** Wren announced, turning and rolling away from the car. She widened her eyes a little and zipped forward, blocking Wrens path as she looked up in confusion.

 **"Going? You promised you'd come!"**

 **"Yes… but I never promised I'd stay for the whole thing"**

Shadow's expression fell, glancing back into the main lobby where everyone was gathered, swallowing a little in worry.

 **"Ok… well… I guess being here wasn't that great anyway… I'll just tell Finn we're leaving"**

 **"Hm? What, no that wasn't an invitation for you to-"** Wren began, though Shadow was already headed toward where she had last seen Finn. It was here, that her name was called, causing her to stop and look to the source.

 **"Hey! Shadow! Over here!"** A yellow Suzuki waved his tire at her, motioning her over with his hood. She let a brief smile slip onto her face, though it didn't come without a new set of nerves. His name was Jace, and the two had started out as rather good friends when they both started the Academy, though their skills were very similar in level, so over time things between them became competitive and strained. They then turned into each others main rival, and it was quite a bitter one at that. They hadn't spoken since graduating, however, so perhaps the hype of the Academy had left their system and they could finally be friends again. He was currently at the second food table, one that Wren _hadn't_ obliterated, signalling her over once more. She picked up her speed just a little as she rolled to meet him, her smile mirroring his as she began to feel a little more at ease.

 **"Shads! Great to see you! How's the tire?"** He asked, referring to an accident Shadow had in her second year.

 **"Oh it's recovered now, I'm able to use it fully once more, how have you been?"** Shadow finally pulled up, smiling to her former rival. The Suzuki nodded his hood here, though there seemed something… off with the motion.

 **"Yeah, yeah I'm great. Listen… Do you know where we can score some Flake?"** He spoke with a hushed whisper, though Shadow only frowned in confusion.

 **"Some… what?"**

 **"You know… Snow."**

 **"I'm… sorry?"**

 **"Oh come on, don't give me that! Blow, Toot, Dust… Powder!"**

 **"Jace, you're literally just saying words"**

The Alto rolled his eyes, lowering his voice even more.

 **"Cocaine. Come on, you were raised in a criminal circuit! Did the Carlisle's not specialize in Drugs to begin with?"** He answered, causing Shadow to roll back a little.

 **"Jace… you know that's also incredibly illegal… what in Chryslers name do you think you're doing asking for it? And for the record, no, I don't know where to _score_ you some, I refused to have anything to do with whatever it was my family did"** She said defensively, backing up a little. Jace seemed to chuckle a little here, though his eyes suddenly held a dark look to them, and it worried her.

 **"Oh Shadow… Shads…. Silly-Car"** He too used his own pet name for her, and it caused her to scowl once more.

 **"Don't you understand? You were born a criminal… You were born to a criminal family… You have criminal in your blood… it's part of your DNA…You don't… actually think you belong here do you?"** Jace half scoffed, earning a few chuckled from a car or two behind him. Shadow swiftly noted that they were the Lexus and the Citreon from earlier… So it perhaps didn't surprise her as much.

 **"Jace, I don't know what's going on with you, but it has to stop"** Shadow warned, though she had no threat… what on earth could she even threaten him with? His words were cutting deep, feeling as though they were slicing into her tank and making her feel rather ill.

 **"I'm not a criminal… I never have been"** She persisted, though Jace's smirk only made her more angry.

 **"Oh what's wrong Silly-Car? That Carlisle temper getting the better of you?"** He mocked, his voice rising a little.

 **"STOP calling me that!"** She snapped, raising on her tires and trying to control that said temper he was referring to… She couldn't lose her cool. Not here. It was here, he reached his tire to the side of the large glass punch bowl that sit on the table, and swiped it to the floor, the glass shattering, the liquid splashing up and covering them both. Within seconds, Jace was backing away, a petrified look on his face.

 **"S-Shadow… You… you need to calm down… I –I didn't mean to upset you!"** He called out, whilst Shadow watching him in confusion. It was here she noticed that more and more agents had stopped talking and were now staring in their direction. Even Finn was watching with uncertainty.

 **"Wait… No… I didn't… That wasn't me!"** She said now, looking to Jace with an annoyed expression. She gingerly lowered herself on her tires, just as Jace spoke up again.

 **"I only asked about her family… I thought maybe she was different… then she got upset and tried to attack me!"** Jace cried out, earning a few disapproving murmurs from around her.

 **"No… No I didn't-"**

 **"You should go back to the slums you emerged from, Silly-Car!"** The Citreon piped up, earning a laugh once more from the Lexus. Shadow was backing away, tears stinging her eyes as she watched other agents join in the laughter. She was backing away a little, looking to those that were laughing. The whole room was watching as the two confronted each other, murmurs and laughter rippling through the room between the agents, and the Celica could feel all eyes on them... burning her paint as she judged her once more.

 **"I didn't-"** She tried to protest, though was now trying not to cry fully in front of everyone. Emotions were a very touchy subject when you were an agent... you had to control them.

 **"Whatever made you think you'd be one of us? You're a dirty, cheating, disgusting low-life crim-"** Jace had begun, before a sudden noise of engine and propellers could be heard, echoing throughout the room as Wren now appeared from seemingly nowhere, standing above the Celica as she ducked down.

 **"Agent Carlisle is 10 TIMES the agent you will ever be!"** She snarled through gritted teeth, the sudden presence of the Corsair causing Jace to shrink back a little. He seemed to take a moment to recover, before righting himself.

 **"Heh... you're hardly one to talk... you're a medic... couldn't manage to be an agent eh?"** He snickered, which caused the large Corsair to scowl.

 **"I can break every part in a cars body and STILL leave them breathing. I can extract any part I want and swap it with any desired item I desire, so should I choose a piece of fruit, guess who'll be running on orange juice for the next 10 years. I can make any death appear like an accident, and I can certainly induce any kind of coma you should deserve, and I can do it ALL without sedative...I was in the line of fire back in the Navy, saving planes from the brink of death, seeing the life seep away in such a haunting way, you can only watch it in movies. I've seen brutal attacks, planes missing entire wings and once even an entire back half blown off... and I saved each and every one of them. So i'd watch very carefully who you insult because I have an entire team of medics at my disposal and you... are just a tiny car with a vile attitude. What was that? Couldn't make it as a medic could you hm? But sure... I didn't make it as an agent. But then... why would I do that when playing god is so much more fun?"** Wren smiled wickedly now, staring hard at the Suzuki. Her rudder was twitching in irritation, the Celica now taking refuge underneath her.

 **"I don't suppose you are even aware of the amount of damage that internally Shadow came to CHROME with... Not everyone lives through unprofessional procedures where your engine block is removed, as well as vital oil pipes, then shoved back in the _wrong way_. The fact that Shadow survived this procedure more times than you could count, makes her far stronger than any of your miserable existences. The fact she still functions, and can breathe is a miracle in itself and places her as a far more superior car than you could ever hope to be. You would probably pass out at the sight of your own oil.. Oh, and guess who would be in charge of reviving you... yours truly. Trust me... I will NOT be nice about it..."** She threatened, causing Jace to look round the room in concern.

 **"Trying to belittle others to make yourself look big and tough? You are nothing more than a scuff on the pavement outside. I hope in time everyone sees you for the nasty little sh*t you are, you aren't even worthy of being called a trainee. I've seen many an agent die in their building, great honourable agents... you aren't even worth the ground they once drove upon"** She seethed, though Shadow was looking up in slight confusion. Jace was rendered speechless, staring at the plane. No one had ever really spoken back to him, so this was an un-nerving difference to him.

 **"Now... get your ass home to your mummy before I scrawl 'Do not resuscitate' across your entire file!"** She growled, causing Jace to back up. Wren took his silence to mean victory, turning and heading back toward the exit. She stopped after a few feet as she heard Jace try and shrug it off to his friends.

 **"Oh and... how are your Piles?"** She remarked with a smirk, causing everyone to look to Jace once more, more murmurs and a slow laughter filling the room. Jace sunk on his tires and glanced around in a panic, before trying to zip off unseen. Shadow had remained where she was, staring at Jace all through this, even when Wren left her, though only seemed to snap back into reality when she felt Finn use his tire to nudge her side.

 **"Carlisle, are you ok?"** He asked carefully, and she sniffed once, shaking her hood suddenly.

 **"Uh... yeah, yeah I'm fine... um"** She seemed to say, before she started her engine and zipped round Finn quickly, going after Wren now.

 **"Hey... what... what was that? I... I never told you about what they did to me... That's been a... a secret, how did you know?"** Shadow seemed to stammer, before Wren glanced at her.

 **"Everyone's engines tell a story, Shadow. Your story was painful to look at"** The Corsair responded. Shadow stopped here, though Wren still rolled on, pausing at the door.

 **"Wren..."**

 **"Yes Shadow?"**

 **"...I need a hug"**

 **"Go away"**


	4. Chapter 4

**Date: January 1st 2012 00:01**

 **Location: CHROME Headquarters - Lobby**

The chants of many voices counting down to the new year together could be heard faintly from outside, the blistering chill that whipped across the Celicas hood made her shiver as she watched the darkened streets before her. Shadow was still partially in shock at Wrens outburst toward Jace, her mind whirring perhaps a little too sluggishly after a couple of glasses of wine. Shadow blinked as another whistle of wind shook her awake from her thoughts, her breath turning to swirls of fog that rose and vanished into the night sky. It was perhaps confusion that was holding the car in place, rather like a glue that ceased to let her move until she could figure out what happened. It wasn't so much the fact that Wren had acted out… Sure, she was still surprised at the Corsair for defending her so quickly, but it was the words that seemed to burn themselves into her mind.

 _"Agent Carlisle is 10 TIMES the agent you will ever be!"_

She shook her hood suddenly, as if someone had actually said her name, the shiver coursing through her body once more as a reminder of her dropping temperature. It took a few moments, but she steadily decided that she wouldn't return to the CHROME party… too much had perhaps gone on for her to return with her hood held quite as high. She had a couple of options… though she was sure that Wren had left now, after all, she had gone out the lobby doors after her confrontation, so no doubt she would be heading home. With a small grin, the Celica brought up her holographic screen, scanning through files until she found the one assigned to Wren. Glancing the address over, she was driving off within seconds, picking up speed as she was determined to catch the plane when she arrived.

Little to Shadow's knowledge, Wren hadn't actually left for home, and had instead gone back to her office to retrieve her medical reports in order to pass on to the CHROME head. Despite his superiority over the agency, he was affectionately and unknowingly referred to as Angry, which if you spent 10 minutes with the guy, you could easily suss out why. She was moving through CHROME at a slightly faster speed than she normally would, something clearly on her mind as she passed the papers over, rolled down the ramps and finally emerging into the chilly winter night herself. Snow and ice stuck to the ground, so it was perhaps a little harder for a plane to navigate across, seeing as London was a 'no fly zone' for civilians. She picked her way to the tube station, unawares of the small car that was already beating her to the same destination.

Shadow had access to every side street, back alley and closed off road she could find, surprisingly nimble for a car such as herself, and finally spotting the large hangar up ahead. Sure, she reasoned that Wren might not be best pleased with the fact that her new friend had just appeared in her house unexpected, but Shadow reasoned that Wren seemed to be perhaps warming up to her… she could bring the plane round eventually. Despite the fact that she already knew Wren hated traveling by tube and would be doing so currently. This was confirmed by the lack of lighting that appeared from the hangar, all windows closed and no sign of life. Shadow decided that she could perhaps wait for Wren inside and give her a little bit of a surprise… That would make it all the more amusing! After a quick evaluation, Shadow spotted a window at the back that was large enough for the Celica to fit through. The hangar was rather huge in itself… so Shadow saw that of course it would need big windows. She approached the latched window carefully, propping herself up against the wall with her tires as she assessed which lock it had. For someone that worked at CHROME…. She was surprised to see Wren had more basic locks, a restriction cable at that. It took less than 30 seconds for the Celica to unlatch the window, and cut the cable, allowing her full access as the frame swung out. What was also surprising was that no alarm seemed to go off… though maybe Wren wasn't too worried about Celicas breaking in regularly.

With a push from her suspension, she was balancing on the ledge and half through the window already, using her agility to pry herself to the counter, and finally the floor, shaking her body slightly to be rid of any chippings the window caused. She glanced round, her mouth pulling into a grimace as the smell of Dettol filled her senses, the counters, worktops and appliances… spotless. It smelt too clean! Was this what Wren did all day? Clean? She shook her hood again to try and be rid of the smell, hoping it didn't stick to her paint. She was currently standing in what appeared to be Wren's kitchen, though with how dark it was, it wasn't so easy to see. She pondered what to do for a moment, tapping her tire lightly as she hadn't figured this out all the way yet it seemed…. Shadow spotted the cupboards above the counters at this point, and a small grin appeared on her face. It took only a few seconds, but the car soon had a grappling hook wrapped around the handle of the top cupboard door, opening with ease and seeing what was inside.

To her delight, there seemed to be some expensive looking biscuits at the top shelf, and with another well aimed grab, tugged them down so they fell to her hood. So THIS was where she kept the good stuff… all the while she had been feeding the Toyota with value custard creams from Tescos! Once the pack was opened, nothing stopped Shadow from rolling through the large doorway, looking about for other rooms, deciding to explore a little in Wren's absence. She found the bathroom first, taking a special interest in all the rather expensive looking bath soaps that were lined up neatly on a small shelf. It smelt tolerable in here. It was more floral scented, with plenty of shiny ornaments that caught the Toyotas eye. She drove into a few other rooms, nosing her hood about to have a look around, poking at the objects of interest and seeing all manner of exciting things. It was all clean and well put in place… so she of course took the liberty to move some items around… that would drive Wren nuts! She spotted old photographs of Wren in her Navy livery, smirking a little as she thought about how funny Wren looked… She also spotted some with Wren and what could only be perceived as her husband. The car gazed over them all, also spotting the odd award, medal and a bowl of shiny 50 Cal cases. The noise when she poked them was amusing, so she did this for a few moments before moving on.

The final room was the bedroom, and since it appeared there was still no Wren, Shadow started to drive quietly to this very room to satisfy her curious need. She nudged the door open, which opened slowly upon contact, allowing Shadow into the room. She was perhaps a couple of feet inside, when the sudden snore and unsettled movement of someone made her freeze. Was Wren here and sleeping already? Shadow froze, ducking down as she squinted, having seen the figure only moments after the noise. The moonlight that shone through the windows cast a steady glow upon everything, including the navy blue paint job of what appeared to be a male. Shadow ducked down further, reversing out slowly as she stared. Wren's husband was here? She hadn't said anything! Or… perhaps she had… The Celica couldn't remember and now her mind was beginning to race a little more. She was only now beginning to take in the rather frightening details. He was huge, much larger than Wren herself, and she thought Wren was rather big herself! She remembered the photos, and how stern and serious he seemed to be in all of them, making her heart thud a little harder in her undercarriage. If she was caught… this could look very bad.

She reversed out the room, her eyes remaining on the door from which the plane slept behind, beginning to turn gradually. She was rather flustered, thinking back to her failed mission with Finn…. How could she be any sort of agent if she didn't even know someone was here. Defeated, she started to look for her exit, remembering the window from which she entered through. She started to look up, though was too late to notice she had swung too wide, nudging the table that contained the bowl of cases. She backed away immediately, watching as it tipped, and causing a noise that made her hunch down, listening to the deathly silence that followed. Good… there was no noise. She was ok. She began to make her way through the living room, spotting her open window when she was suddenly rammed hard into her left side, the force so great it sent her flying off her tires and hitting the living room wall rather hard. She landed with a yelp and a loud bang, the breath having been totally knocked out of her, and her mind spinning. _What was that? What was going on?_ She glanced back to the room, seeing no one there, but by this point, she knew she couldn't trust her eyes. She knew that Wren's husband was no longer asleep… and thought she was an intruder! Well….. Technically she was. But perhaps a robber! The Celica struggled to her tires, shaking a little from the impact as Finn's instructions finally flooded her mind.

 _'You must always have a second exit, the first one can be compromised very quickly'_

She saw the plane suddenly, heading toward her in another charge, to which she finally revved her engine, bolting down to the hallway as quick as she could given her dizzy state. She had remembered that the bathroom had a large window as well, enough for her to get through quickly, so it was now once again the bathroom she was heading toward.

Wren meanwhile had finally arrived at the hangar herself, letting a small exhale escape as she neared the door. She couldn't wait to just get to bed… waking up with her husband next to her always made her life complete once more. She was about to shuffle the door open, when she heard the sudden commotion, a large bang, followed by a cry, and then other noises that sounded like things falling and being crashed into. For a moment, Wren suspected Skipper was having one of his nightmares again… He sometimes had vivid dreams of the dogfights and battles he took place in, and it often got him riled up. She shoved the door open quickly to try and save at least some of her possessions, though was stunned to see the Celica dart into the hallway, her enraged husband following her. With quick thoughts, Wren dove forward, blocking Skippers path and causing him to halt immediately, stopping inches away from his wife.

 **"HEY HEY HEY! TAKE IT EASY!"** She shouted, her prop spinning a little due to the effort of moving so quickly.

 **"WREN, MOVE!"** The angry Corsair bit back, watching her intently as he panted heavily, the effort from chasing Shadow having been taken out of him.

 **"Not until you calm down Skipper!"** She answered, refusing to move from his path. Her props continued to turn slightly as both planes stared each other down, her own breathing a little heavier as she carefully watched his reactions. There was a soft thump in the background as the bathroom window shut, Wren realizing that Shadow had taken this moment to make her escape and flee. A slight sigh escaped her, just as Skipper also seemed to be calming down, looking away a little as he ran his gaze over some of the damage that had been done. Wren herself had spotted the damage that resided on Skippers nose after he had head on rammed the car, motioning with her own nose to follow her. Together they headed to the bathroom, from which the window lock had been prized open in Shadow's hurry to escape. She now turned to face Skipper, glancing his injury over in a quiet way.

 **"Look at the state of your nose…"** She tutted slightly, her voice gentle and rather soothing.

 **"Don't start"** He said quickly, before he received a certain look from Wren.

 **"I'm not starting anything. Come on, this needs cleaning up"** She responded, giving him a no-nonsense look which told him he wasn't getting out of it.

 **"She wasn't an intruder… She's a CHROME agent that I met recently. Apparently decided to blow herself up on mission, which I'm sure she could have handled better…"** Wren explained now, looking to tend to his nose as she spoke. He lifted it higher, not entirely co-operative to begin with, though it didn't stop him scowling at her for a moment.

 **"You really didn't need to overreact like that toward her…"** Wren said after the pause, still focusing on what she was doing.

 **"There was a strange car leafing through your belongings late at night and I'm overreacting? You're under reacting!"** He persisted.

 **"Oh grow up Riley… She's just a co-worker"**

 **"Yeah…. A stupid co-worker"**

 **"Oh shh, hold still"**

 **"Augh! WREN!"**

The Super Corsair ignored her husband's protests with a calm expression, knowing that after all these years, she was only able to get through to him when she was soft. He usually did calm down to her words, she just had to make sure she stayed sweet with him. Wren took a moment to clean up the bleeding oil, taking her time and making sure it was well looked after.

 **"I know it's sore… it's ok. Just try to hold still…"** She soothed the older plane, though he only seemed to scowl further.

 **"Then. Why. Are. You. Hurting. It"** This caused Wren to soften her voice more, in a bid to calm him further.

 **"You decided to barge her across the room, not me… I can make it hurt more if you carry on!"**

Skipper only seemed to huff, glancing away in annoyance, though didn't seem to protest any further.

 **"Right… how's that?"**

 **"...Better…. Thanks… But you know that job of yours is getting out of hand"**

 **"You know… Shadow hasn't long been classed as a professional agent. She's fresh out the Academy-"**

 **"-That doesn't matter! Why would she be poking around here? Who taught her that your home was a training ground?"** He seemed to seeth for a moment, though Wrens calm voice seemed to be having an effect.

 **"You're getting all worked up again, come on, hold still…"** She spoke lightly, watching as Skipper obediently dropped his nose a little once again for her.

 **"We were all young and dumb once...She just needs… a little guidance"**

 **"Hmph, well that's not your job"**

 **"She's been through a lot… a little kindness goes a long way"**

 **"Wren I-"**

 **"Wouldn't you agree?"** She seemed to draw back here, glancing to him with a more meaningful look. The Corsair fell silent, the words having clearly had some form of effect. There was a long silence that greeted them, as Wren finished up what repairs she could on him, and rolling back just a little to admire her work.

 **"She surprised me"** Skipper said quietly, to which Wren gave him a sympathetic look.

 **"I know she did"**

 **"I hit her hard...You should check up on her"**

 **"I will, don't worry"** Wren nodded gently, before kissing his cheek gently. **"You're all done"**

Skipper nodded his nose a little more, the beginning of a smile beginning to tug at the corners of his mouth.

 **"Right….I'm going to bed"** Skipper seemed to say now, clearly an indication for her to join him. Wren smiled gently and watched him for a moment.

 **"Of course… though first I have to make a call"**

Shadow was racing through the streets as fast as her tires would allow, her breath heavy as she tried to suck in oxygen in her desperate hurry to get away. Adrenaline fueled her as she pushed on, heart drumming loudly in her ears and the world whipping by faster than she could think. All she knew was that she was in trouble… she could have been seriously injured should Wren have not gotten involved when she did. It seemed a lifetime before the familiar street that she lived on appeared, glancing up to the apartment that she shared with Finn, swallowing a little nervously when she spotted that the light was still on. He was up. Great. She had finally slowed down, panting heavily as she tried to regulate her breathing that looked least as suspicious as possible. For all he knew, she could have moved on to a pub or a club to celebrate the coming of the new year. For all he knew… she hadn't just broken into someone's house.

She stopped before she got to the exterior door, inhaling fully, and shaking herself out, trying to get to a calmer exterior before she dared face him. He could read her scarily well… so her best front had to be up. She pushed the door open and made her way up the ramps to their level, driving with ease to the door, and scanning her tire in. The door slid open, and the open hallway that led to the living room greeted her. Everything here wasn't as high tech as perhaps other apartments that housed CHROME agents… Finn was more traditional, so had more traditional features. The living room however did boast floor to ceiling windows, one section of the wall being entirely dedicated so you could watch out over the london view. Small lamps flickered as she entered, and spotted the Faultless relaxing on a rather comfortable looking cushion, studying a series of papers that littered the floor. At his tire rested a martini, something he seemed to be fond of on the odd occassion. The Toyota was frozen for a few moments, opening her mouth to speak in general, before Finn beat her to it.

 **"How did you get that?"** He asked, not even looking up from his papers to address her. Shadow's oil ran cold for a moment, before recovering herself.

 **"Get… what?"** She seemed to ask innocently, though stood at the point the hallways met the living room.

 **"The dent. How did you get it?"** He asked again, finally looking up to watch her. Shadow seemed stunned for a moment, before she gave him a smile, laughing just a little.

 **"Heh… well you wouldn't believe it really… After the whole… Jace thing, I kinda wanted to get away, so went to this Sherlock Holmes pub… rather apt, i thought. ANYWAY I'd been there a little while and this huge fight seemed to break out between two drunks, rather funny, though I got rammed in the process… stings like hell but… it was something to behold!"** Shadow started chuckling, though it turned into a nervous one as she saw Finn put down his glass, reverse off his cushion and come toward her. She shrank a little on the spot as he came up to her side, placing his tire above the dent and shifting her a little so he could get a better look.

 **"You're Lying"**

 **"...what?"**

 **"It looks to me as if a Corsair did this"** He started, to which she quickly thought of an answer.

 **"Yes well, one of them was drunk, yes"** She nodded, though he gave her a look that made her oil run cold again.

 **"Hm….Male, about 14,346 lbs, and judging by the way it's angled…. This was done in the dark…"** He continued, and she swallowed again, about to protest a little before he drove to face her fully.

 **"Tomorrow you'll go straight to Wren's office, you'll get that dent pulled and you'll apologize, and you should be aware that your little stunt this evening doesn't reflect well on me as your mentor"** He said sternly, watching Shadow carefully. She shrank on her tires once more before him, her gaze dropping to the floor and her tires tucked in.

 **"However, with that being said, you still managed to escape. It was perhaps aided, but you still thought on your tires. What happened?"** He asked, motioning toward the kitchen with his front. She nodded and followed him in a subdued manner, stopping at the doorway as he seemed to flick on the kettle. Making Tea then, no doubt. She watched for a moment before she started talking in a quiet voice.

 **"Uh… well, i saw the weaker window was the one at the back, leading to the kitchen, and that was my way in…. My way out was… compromised you could say, so I made for the bathroom window instead. I judged it was the right dimensions, so that's the one I went for. Plus it would be harder for him to move round a smaller room, making it so I had the advantage"** She explained gently, watching Finn the entire time. He seemed to make a noise to indicate he had understood, nodding his hood a little in response.

 **"So… are you angry?"** She asked carefully, watching as he stirred the newly made tea carefully.

 **"Angry? No… Carlisle, anger can be irrational and can make you choose bad choices in the heat of the moment, or say something you could regret… I'm not angry, no"** He answered, which caused Shadow to breath out a little.

 **"I am however disappointed in your conduct tonight…. I thought you would know better by now. Not only did you act inappropriately… you got caught and thoroughly embarrassed yourself"** Finn added at this point, and Shadow felt like she wanted the entire ground to swallow her up. Finn laid her tea down in front of her, giving her a curt nod, before making his way back to his cushion, leaving Shadow feeling rather humiliated and gutted in the kitchen.

 **Date: January 1st 2012 13:23**

 **Location: CHROME Headquarters - Medical Bay**

Once the car had roused from her patchy nights sleep, she had deliberately stayed in her room, not daring to emerge and be confronted with the humiliation that awaited her back at CHROME. Finn caught on rather early when she didn't emerge upon hearing the kettle boil, a habit she seemed to have developed over time. He immediately saw the lack of movement on her end, and over-rode the door to let him in. Shadow had ducked away from him at first, remorse stuck on her face until he had smiled gently, telling her things would be ok, but the dent still needed looking at. After further gentle coaxing, Shadow finally agreed to get it seen to, rolling out the apartment several minutes later with a rather heavy sinking feeling. She had tried to persuade Finn to come with her, but he had stated that he had work to do, besides, Wren would probably need to speak with her. Alone. The drive to CHROME was not a long one, though she took longer than needed as she thought of all the possible scenarios in her head. She had been stupid… and now she looked it too.

She took a moment to steady herself once CHROME came into view, the situation she faced was less than bright. Even with the slower speed, CHROME loomed before her, and before she knew it, she was driving through the twisting halls and toward the Medical bay. Shadow saw the familiar Green Mini Cooper moving between rooms, and he smiled as he spotted her.

 **"Shadow! Happy New Year! What are you here for?"** Phil said in a more than happy tone, a few hungover agents groaning at the noise. Shadow glanced inside the room perhaps to grab a glance at Wren, though there seemed to be no plane inside the room.

 **"Uh… here to see Wren, actually, is she in?"** She asked hesitantly.

 **"Well… Today was her day off but she DID call earlier to say she would be in for a small while… if you wait by her office, I'm sure she'll be here soon"** Came the reply, and Shadow nodded her thanks. Phil was the only medical employee she could see, and remembered that it WAS still a holiday… a majority got the day off. It was only perhaps around 10 minutes later, when Wren finally rounded the end of the corridor. She never looked pleased on the best of days, so today she seemed to carry a stern aura about her. Shadow backed up away a little from the office door, allowing Wren to turn in and unlock it. The Corsair completely ignored the car, entering her office and slamming the door closed after her. Uncertainty washed over the Toyota, and she wondered about asking Phil to fix her up, though just as she went to move, there came a shout from within the office.

 _ **"CARLISLE!"**_

The car flinched, staring at the door as though it were about to eat her, afraid to move at first. Though, as she slowly started to move, she pressed on the door with her tire, seeing Wren facing away as she messed with another piece of complicated looking machinery. The agent crawled in slowly, before stopping in the center, a deathly silence surrounding her as she stared at the Corsair, unsure how to play it out. Without a word, Wren turned, looking at her for a fleeting moment and then rolling to Shadow's dented side.

 **"Hmm…. This is definitely my husbands work. I'm afraid I don't think I can get the panel smooth again….Well, It's a good job I charged the electric chainsaw yesterday isn't it!"** The Plane finally spoke, her expression serious. Shadow glanced up to her with a wide eyes, a sharp exhale leaving her in what appeared to be fear, no words flying from the Celica's mouth immediately.

 **"The…. the w-what?"**

Another moment passed as the vehicles stared at one another, a slow smirk appearing on Wren's face.

 **"Relax you damn Spring Roll, I'm just gonna pull the dent. You'll be back to breaking and entering in no time"** Wren now stated, and Shadow shifted her gaze away, looking straight ahead as the plane set to work with pulling the dent out. Shadow flinched every so often, the stinging becoming sharper occasionally, with Wren stopping to ask if she needed any painkillers. Shadow politely shook her hood no, though after a while it had begun throbbing, and she rather regretted this choice.

 **"You know…. You scared him."**

 **"What? Him? He's 5 times my size…."**

 **"He's a light sleeper, Shadow. Plus, waking a plane with PTSD is not a good idea"**

 **"Right….. I….. i'msorry"**

 **"What?"**

 **"I'msorry"**

 **"I'm afraid I can't quite hear you-"**

 **"I'M. SORRY"**

 **"...That's better"** Wren stated with a smirk, though her expression grew a little softer.

 **"It's ok, Shadow"**

Finally, it seemed that the repair work was complete, and although it still throbbed and stung, it felt better already than it had done.

 **"How does that feel?"**

 **"Uh… yeah, it feels alright now… as good as new"** Shadow managed with a small smile, looking to her panel through her wing mirror.

 **"Good… I can tell Skipper to stop worrying now. You know, he's flying back to the states next week… perhaps you can stay for the night."**

 **"What… why?"**

 **"Well, whatever it was you wanted to say… it must have been damn important for you to break into my house at 1am"**

 **"Well…. I was sad"**

 **"That's it?"**

 **"Pretty much…"**

 **"Wow… let's hope you don't get depressed. You might break into the Bank of England to touch the gold"**

 **"Ha. Funny"**

 **"Aren't I just?"**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you all for your reviews so far, each one means a lot and helps fuels more chapters! Really hope you're enjoying the story so far!**

 **Date: June 16th 2012 19:17**

 **Location: CHROME Headquarters - Medical Bay**

A blistering heat had seized London and all it's inhabitants, the last few days worth of sunny skies and no rain meant that the air was muggy and still, no breeze to help cool the streets. Even when there was, it was still an uncomfortable warmth that pushed into the faces of the many vehicles that lived there. As much as everyone complained about the rain… the very sunny days were even worse. Luckily, the CHROME offices were all installed with the best air conditioning possible, evident by the way Shadow was now standing below her's, the cold air blasting onto her roof as she cooled down. Even now as it was later in the day, she hated the sticky heat, longing for the cold depths of winter when she could snuggle under some blankets and get warm. It was so much easier to warm up than to cool down, for her at least. With a final sigh, she switched the machine off, having finished her mission paperwork and reports about 45 minutes ago. It was really time to go home, no doubt Finn would be pondering as to where she had gotten to, she noticed the older car tended to worry. As the Toyota began to descend down the familiar ramps, Shadow noticed movement in the window of Wren's office, a small frown appearing on the cars face. She was perhaps a little surprised that the Corsair was still here, knowing that Skipper had once again returned to England after leaving in January. Wren was always trying to leave on time to spend as much time as she could with him, so this development had Shadow slightly concerned. The pair had grown closer over the last few months, mostly due to Shadow's mishaps on mission, resulting in almost a daily visit to Wren's office. This was often accompanied by tea, biscuits and a good natter. A few moments went by before Shadow decided to try and find out what was going on, turning the corner smoothly into Wren's doorway.

The Corsair had been busy grumbling to herself, her day being rather long and boring at this point, as well as being sick and tired of hearing about Jace's wedding that was fast approaching. The invite had landed on her desk earlier that week, and Wren had spent most the day staring at it with a soul burning hatred. The plane glanced up as she saw a shape move into the doorframe, her eyes resting on the car as she entered. Shadow seemed to look round the office for a few moments, instantly moving toward the cupboard with the 'not so secret' biscuits.

 **"** **I'm not in the mood today Shadow…"**

 **"** **You're never in the mood"** Came the reply, before launching her grappling hooks at the handle. Wren just seemed to roll her eyes here and concentrate on her paperwork again, rudder twitching in frustration.

 **"** **Do whatever pleases you"**

At this, the Celica paused and looked over to Wren, suddenly aware that this wasn't the normal attitude of the other. Concern flooded her features as she withdrew her hook and faced her friend opposite the desk.

 **"** **What's going on?"**

A somewhat restrained sigh escaped the plane, though it was more at the situation rather than the question the car asked.

 **"** **My parents"**

 **"** **...They can't be as bad as mine"**

 **"** **...No, but they've decided come down for a visit and my mother is busy trying to make my house so clean it's see-through, whilst my father has decided to start World War 3 with my husband in our living room"**

 **"** **Huh… do they clash a lot?"**

 **"** **Tsk, I wish that were the only problem. See, Skipper and I started a relationship officially when I was 18… according to my father, Skipper was much too old for me and you can imagine this didn't go down well when I told him. Since then… there's just been a load of friction"** Wren explained, an expression appearing that told Shadow it was perhaps affecting her a little more than she let on.

 **"** **Jeez… Skipper is a little older isn't he?"**

 **"** **...Don't"**

 **"** **Does he suck on hard candies?"**

 **"** **I'm not res-"**

 **"** **Does he moan about today's youth?"**

 **"** **I swear on-"**

 **"** **Does he constantly try to turn the tv up?"**

 **"** **Carlisle! May I remind you that this '** ** _old man_** **' bested you and sent you flying across the room?"**

The Celica opened her mouth to retaliate but ended up with nothing, so took to slouching on her tires a little, pouting as she did so. Though it was here, Shadow spotted the familiar looking wedding invite, having found one on her desk earlier that week also. She was more than surprised to receive one… Jace hated her after all. Though, thinking about it… it was probably to brag about his expensive taste.

 **"** **So you going to the** ** _'Wedding of the Century'_** **?"**

 **"** **I'd hardly call it that"**

 **"** **You say that, but that's actually what he's put on the invitation…."**

 **"** **Chrysler, really? Ugh, well, besides, I have to go. Jace is the son of one of Angry's closest friends… The Head Medic can't exactly tell them all to screw off, as much as I'd like to. That would just infuriate Angry even more"** Wren retorted, gazing back down to the envelope from hell.

 **"** **What about you then?"** The plane asked, causing Shadow to roll her eyes.

 **"** **Go there and be insulted so much I forget my own name or have a nice evening in, a long bath with some of the soaps I may or may not have borrowed off you…. Hmmm…. Choices.."**

 **"** **Borrowed?"**

 **"** **Well you know, actually, Finn mentioned he was going… so I would probably get dragged along… and to be fair, if I didn't show up…. That might not look so great on me.. What do you think?"**

 **"** ** _Borrowed_** **my soaps?"**

 **"** **You're… probably right yeah. Pff fine, I'll go. Only for my reputation though"**

 **"** **...Right. But you know, Jace is so unlikable, they had to pad out the guest list somehow… "** Wren snickered, glancing to Shadow as she nodded her hood in amused agreement.

 **"** **I've thought of the ultimate wedding present you should get him…. An attitude transplant"** Shadow joked, both vehicles laughing when Wren's phone abruptly started ringing. The plane wasted no time in tapping the answer key.

 **"** **Hello?"** She answered, though her tone has changed just a little, just as she seemed to have predicted who was on the other end.

 **"** **When will you be home?"**

 **"** **Skipper…. I'm… Erm….To be honest, I'm done here. Just making this last bit of paperwork stretch-"**

 **"** **Ooh no lady, don't you dare. I'm not dealing with them alone"**

 **"** **You're dealing with them alone now"**

 **"** **...Mm yeah no, I'm not"**

 **"** **...Right so where ar- Ok, you know what, never mind, do you want to join us for a drink? There's a bar just round the corner-"**

 **"** **Yes! Hard liquor sounds like a good plan"**

 **"** **...Please don't get drunk"**

 **"** **I make no promises baby doll"**

The phone line went dead after this, causing Wren to sigh a little, though a soft smirk on her features.

 **"** **You know he's gonna get drunk right?"**

 **"** **...Yes. I do"**

 **"** **...Hope you have fun with that!"** Shadow seemed to dismiss herself, going to turn and get away quickly, when Wren cleared her throat loudly.

 **"** **Uhm…. where are you going? You're coming too"** Wren stated, before it was the Celica's turn to sigh. She hadn't faced Skipper since her break in… this would be anything but pleasant.

 **"** **Fine… Fine. Just make sure his bulldozer days are over"**

The chosen bar was currently heaving with bustling activity, waitresses and waiters weaving in and out of rowdy vehicles, balancing trays of drinks and food through the smoky atmosphere. It wasn't exactly a top end bar, though in the center of London, everywhere else would have been even busier. During their commute, Shadow had contacted Finn, initially letting him know where she had got to, though ended up inviting her partner on a whim of sudden nerves. It hadn't gone un-noticed by the Corsair that Shadow had developed a bit of a crush on her mentor, often speaking about him without realizing, and even in the way she looked at him. Something was definitely concealed… and it only seemed to be getting more obvious as time went on. The four were now sitting round the large table that surrounded the pittie bartender, who was throwing all manner of drinks and cocktails in the air in a display. Shadow and Finn seemed to be watching this in amusement, whilst Wren and Skipper were busy discussing the nightmare that was awaiting them at home.

 **"** **Yes well, your mother has complained constantly, even disinfected the place, up to and including the ceiling… your father is still an aft, and I'm the nasty old Corsair that stole away his little girl"**

 **"** **Huh…. Do they know where you are?"**

 **"** **I don't care"** Came the snapped response, before the plane necked a drink back, intent on pushing the problems away.

 **"** **Well, I'm so glad I caught you in a good mood… cause we've got an invite to a wedding"**

 **"** **Argh, Wren, No!"**

 **"** **It's a work thing…. It means I have to go, therefore you have to aswell"**

The male Corsair huffed loudly, his eyes sweeping across the crowd as he wanted to look to anywhere but his wife and the pressing situation.

 **"** **You know I don't like that sort of thing"**

 **"** **Hm, Don't worry, you're not alone there. Shadow doesn't like them either… To be honest I don't think anyone wants to go"** Skipper watched Wren a little further here, Shadow having turned a little at the mention of her name. She seemed to creep in a little closer and Skipper studied her for a moment, before continuing.

 **"** **Then why are we going?"**

 **"** **The invite says open bar"**

 _ **"**_ _ **Sold!"**_ Came the male's last reply. Shadow seemed to look away at this point, no interest in getting drunk herself… she wouldn't be swayed so easily. She seemed to turn back to Finn, before he said something quietly and she chuckled in response. Skipper then saw a moment to mess with the Celica, a mischievous glint to his eyes.

 **"** **Hold on….. Shadow? Ohh the friend that has the hots for her boss?"** Skipper seemed to smirk, gazing round his wife to see the startled expression of the car, whom had turned yet again, only facing them more now as the situation called for it more.

 **"** **Shhh Skipper! Don't embarrass her… Plus I told you that in private"** Wren said in a hushed tone, throwing Shadow a grin to try and cover it up. The agent remained unconvinced, desperate to say something, though was restricted by the fact Finn was sitting right next to her other side.

 **"** **Psh… I'm helping"**

 **"** **No, you've been drinking… you're being silly"**

 **"** **No being silly would mean shouting that Shadow wishes to MAKE BABIES WITH THIS GENTLEMAN!"** He ended up roaring out in laughter, Shadow's expression falling and her eyes widening as she glanced at Finn. He had fortunately not heard, busy ordering his second drink, plus the shouting around them was enough to deafen anyone. The Celica's heart thudded hard as she tried to reassure herself that Finn was none the wiser, before scowling back at Skipper.

 **"** **Wren… I don't often beg, but listen to me when I say PLEASE stop him….."** She hastily whispered to the plane through gritted teeth. Despite it perhaps being a little funny, Wren decided that this was best saved for another day.

 **"** **Skipper, that's enough now"** She said gently, tapping him on the nose, but couldn't help the grin that slid onto her face.

 **"** **Come on… I'm just teasing… She knows it's a joke"**

 **"** **You can either zip that drunken trap of yours or we can go home and have a nice cup of tea and chit chat with daddy dearest…."**

 **"** **...Fine"**

The atmosphere then seemed to slip into a merry one, as more drinks were ordered and the levels of animosity fell. Wren and Skipper seemed to go quiet and giggly almost, whispering to one another and the occasional loud laughter. Shadow was attempting to show Finn that alcohol had no effect on her, though he knew better and she was doing a poor job, occasionally not making sense and waffling on about random subjects, like how in some far off world maybe tractors were called cows and had he ever had cow oil. The evening was getting late, before Wren seemed to hear her phone ringing once more, looking to it for a dumbfounded moment, as if trying to figure out what was making the annoying noise.

 **"** **H-Hello?"**

 **"** **Wren? Where are you? Your father and I are up here to spend time with you, not to be left alone in your house!"**

 **"** **Ohhh hello mother! We… we had a work meeting…. Yes, yes that's right, and it's been looong and… and stuff"** Wren snickered, Skipper chortling in the background.

Shadow didn't seemed to pay much attention to the rest of the call, returning her attention back to her mission partner, whom also seemed a little light headed, his suave nature seeming perhaps even just a little more flirty, though he was perhaps more 'loosened up', as opposed to tipsy in any way. Next thing Shadow was aware of was Wren nearly laying on top of her, chuckling a little.

 **"** **Shadow, Shadow! I… I have to go, I'm…** ** _I'm in trouble!_** **"** She whispered the last part, though noticed Skipper was already wandering off, before she took off after him, the two slowing and trying not to knock anyone over. Shadow thought it perhaps a little obvious to point out that Wren was 30, therefore couldn't possibly be in trouble.

Shadow was then left alone with Finn, and despite her slightly intoxicated state, she felt the silence set in, feeling perhaps just a little… awkward now. She had run out of things to say, and her recently developed feelings were not making it any easier. Sure, she'd always sort of liked him, but as they grew closer as friends…. She was experiencing something a little deeper. As he ordered their last drinks of the night, she watched him with a slightly baited breath. This wedding was going to be rather hard.

 **Date: June 20th 2012**

 **Location: Cavendish Banqueting Colindale, London**

The day had dragged on to almost outrageous levels, the slow service that had begun the grand occasion of Jace's wedding was tedious and boring. It had been in a large church, to which a choir sang in the bride. Shadow had spent most of her time trying to count the amount of agents that had actually turned up, as well as say the entire alphabet backwards in her head, and also try to see how often she could cough before Finn shot her a gaze. The good thing was, he seemed just as amused, the ceremony clearly taking it out on him too. The Service lasted longer than most, with a few added extras that really weren't needed. Hymns after every 10 minutes and random money pots being passed round, to which the service would not move on from until they were returned. Shadow suspected it might have been a kick to them all from Jace to see how long he could make them do whatever he wanted them to do… and by some weird unspoken social contract, they were obliged to put up with it. Even Wren was having some trouble in making Skipper behave properly, as he seemed just as intent as Shadow in distracting himself long enough to at least not to pass out from boredom.

The afterparty wasn't quite as bad, as there was a little more to do in terms of entertainment, but it still wasn't great. It was rather magnificently decorated, satin sheets hung from the ceiling, sweeping in different directions as the whole room was dimmed. Purple lights lit up the ceiling above, the walls bordered with black boards, installed with small twinkling fairy lights. The tablecloths were also black, sweeping to the floor around the edges of the dance floor, decorated with wedding favours, balloons and tall wedding glasses. Shadow had to admit, it was rather fancy looking, though it was evident that no one was really there to celebrate in the grand achievement that someone wanted to marry Jace, but more the fact there was free food and drink. The Celica had taken to bordering the room a little, making her way round slowly, having remembered her last social interaction, and how well it DIDN'T go. The difference this time however, being that she was a little more established as an agent… She had a few successful missions under her name, and others were beginning to see that she wasn't as Jace had made her out to be… At least not so far. Some were reserved when it came to her, as they were still aware of her family history, though she was being greeted by some of the others, wherelse before, she had been ignored. Once her round was done, she was now stuck for what to do, beginning to make her way to a more secluded area of the room, though making the mistake of cutting through the dance floor, she opened herself up to perhaps more social contact than she wanted.

 **"** **Shadow!"** Came the call, and her oil instantly went cold. Not here… not now…. Though she put on a fake smile as she turned to see Jace himself, approaching her with a permanent smirk etched on his face.

 **"** **Shadsy Silly-Car! So nice of you to stop by… I'll admit that I perhaps thought you wouldn't turn up… Though I'm so glad you prized yourself away from your sad nights alone to be here"** Jace seemed to remark, though gave her no time to respond.

 **"** **Say, this wedding is all rather grand isn't it… Everything is perfect… I have married the most beautiful car in the world… She is mine and I am hers… heh… must be an alien thought to you. Being loved… I suppose that family really done a number on you. Is it true you had 26 different injuries by the time Leland found you?"** He seemed to push at her buttons, knowing full well the subject of her family was still an upsetting one. She grit her teeth firmly as she stared hard at him, holding her tongue within an inch of her life. She couldn't act out…. Not here. It would look terrible on her.. She gave him a very restrained smile, though there was a scowl somewhere underneath… oh how she wished she could just punch his hood in right now…

 **"** **Yes… well….relationships are dangerous… keep an eye on your pretty little bride won't you?"** She seemed to retaliate, though no sooner had the words slipped from her mouth, Jace's expression grew serious.

 **"** **Is that a threat?"**

 **"** **Would you** ** _like_** **it to be?"**

 **"** **Tsk, safe to say i'm hardly frightened by you. There's a better chance of me killing myself in order to get away from you… you know, like Leland did"**

The Toyota rolled back a little, feeling as though her tank had been ripped out from within her. Her heart was beating hard from adrenaline and she began to feel a tightening in her undercarriage. His nasty words were burning into her mind, and she did her utmost best to hold back her growing anger and upset. She let a controlled exhale slip, the motion calming her entire body as she resisted the urge to ram him rather violently into the wall. Jace sniggered at her lack of response, before deciding he was done with her, flicking his tire toward the Celica in order to dismiss her, to which she wasted no time in turning and heading away, originally going toward the double doors to exit and not come back until Monday. She seemed to pause on her way however, as she glanced around her to look at the others. Some agents would have seen her and Jace talking… then her sudden disappearance… Who knows what could be said if she vanished without trace. With a heavy sigh, she resorted to rolling to the back right hand corner, turning slowly to watch the party unfold before her. She noted that Wren and Finn were having no trouble managing small talk, muttering in small groups, the occasional smile and laugh, before politely nodding and listening. Shadow figured that all the while she had this family reputation above her head… she wouldn't be able to achieve such a task. It had barely been 10 minutes, before the shadow of another loomed over the Celica, as Skipper sidled up to her, causing her to bite her lip. What kind of interaction was she in for now? She almost held her breath as the two stood in silence for a moment, the quiet feeding perhaps the slightly awkward atmosphere that passed between them.

 **"** **What's with you Sunshine?"** He seemed to ask abruptly, Shadow instantly picking up on the fact he had been drinking.

 **"** **Hm… How much time do you have, there's a long list"** Shadow muttered, her gaze sweeping the room. There was another silence as the conversation already seemed to fall flat in Shadow's eyes, the plane downing another drink and nearly slamming the glass down using his wing.

 **"** **That Jace?"** He seemed to ask now, using his nose to indicate to the small yellow car. Shadow glanced up for a moment, contemplating whether she herself should be getting drunk out of her head. It'd make this place more bearable.

 **"** **Hm? Oh, yeah. That's him alright. Life of the party"** She replied dully, looking back to the carpet and tracing the patterns on it with her tire.

 **"** **Wren mentioned him…. Jackass"**

 **"** **..."**

 **"** **His paint job looks stupid"**

 **"** **Matches his personality"** The Celica responded with a small smile, glancing to Skipper as he chuckled.

 **"** **What do you suppose she's marrying him for? Cause clearly his body is to** ** _die_** **for…"** Shadow started, to which Skipper was only too happy to oblige.

 **"** **Is he rich? Actually, he can't be… Not sure how you could have that much money and not do anything about that situation… Maybe he's great in bed?"**

 **"** **Not so sure on that one… she must have a hard time sleeping at night, his paint is bright enough to light up the whole room. How much do you think they save in electricity?"**

 **"** **Maybe she's blind…. Well, if not yet then soon she will be"**

 **"** **Do you reckon he's used as a fog light when it gets really bad, so others can find their way?"**

 **"** **Why would you want to move toward** ** _that_** **? Hope she doesn't mind having dayglow children…."**

 **"** **On the plus side you wouldn't need a scan, you'd see them shine through her uterus"**

 **"** **At least she'd never lose them...with paint like that you can practically hear them coming"**

 **"** **If they stand still enough, they'll start being referred to as a constellation"**

 **"** **They could call it '** ** _Ei vero ardentes oculi mei'_** **"**

 **"** **Hm?"**

 **"** **Latin for '** ** _Ouch my eyes are burning'_** **"**

The two were chuckling a lot more now, though Shadow was trying to keep quiet. Despite her best efforts, his last line made her laugh out, drawing some attention to herself as she quickly dropped her gaze to the floor, despite the smile on her face. Skipper gave an amused snort, deciding that perhaps… the small car wasn't so bad after all. They fell silent once more as their gazes drifted to Wren and Finn again, both of them seemingly having the same thought.

 **"** **I don't know how they do it… is it a British thing?"**

 **"** **Is what a British thing?"**

 **"** **Being able to just small talk like that… Chrysler I hate stuff like this"**

 **"** **... I'm British, do you see me over there small talking? In fact, if I had a medal for each time I failed at small talk…. Well I'd have nearly as many as you"**

 **"** **...That's a lot of medals.. Take it people aren't won over by your breaking and entering approach"**

 **"** **Yeah…. Turns out that one isn't a real winner. Arresting them doesn't put me in their good books either."**

 **"** **You can't be that bad, you've been small talking for the last 10 minutes"**

 **"** **Cause we both hate the shiny car that brought us to this point. Nothing like bonding through hatred."**

 **"** **...And we both agree that weddings are hateful events, nothing but posturing and showing off… unless you elope"**

 **"** **Is that what you and Wren did?"**

 **"** **Mmm, her dad didn't want me to marry her "**

 **"** **So you did it anyway… "**

 **"** **Flew down to vegas had a quick thing, just the two of us, rooftop overlooking the city"** He explained, watching Wren with a soft smile.

 **"** **...That sounds too romantic for the two of you. You sure it wasn't a drive-thru wedding with Elvis and complimentary Casino Chips?"** She sniggered, causing him to smirk a little at her back.

 **"** **Chocolate fountains are pretty cool though"**

 **"** **...I will pay you $20 to stick your hood in it"**

 **"** **That all?"**

 **" …** **$50 if you then go hug the bride in her nice white paint job"**

 **"** **Oh you're on…."** The Celica smirked, though it was here that someone cleared their throat nearby, both vehicles pausing their conversation to see Finn approaching. The ever changing music had now shifted to a slow paced song, couples now moving in time with the music as it shifted through the bars and melodies. Shadow looked to the older car in slight confusion, as if not expecting to see him there, especially as he seemed to be focused on just her. He appeared to flick his gaze down slightly, though his suave smile returned in an instant.

 **"** **Carlisle, would you care to dance with me on this one?"** He asked, bending his tire out slightly to her. She watched him for a dumbfounded moment, her heart almost skipping a beat as she tried to make sense of the question. What… did that mean?

 **"** **I… I uh… can't actually dance…"** She seemed to stammer here, watching his tire carefully.

 **"** **It's alright Shadow, I can teach you. I'll lead the way"** He said gently, reversing just a little to the side, as if to guide her with him. She shot him a nervous yet grateful smile, glancing over to Wren before she followed the Faultless. Her heart was practically in her mouth as he did as promised, moving in front of her and reversing as they reached the floor to dance, moving in a tight circle and motioning for her to follow him. She kept facing him, following his twists and turns, before he slowed down, every so often guiding her tires with his own. They were extremely close, and the Celica was beginning to burn up every time he glanced up at her, or praised her for her fast learning. The connection between them in these close moments was practically electrifying, the Celica's heartbeat never ceasing to escalate as she felt the heat that rolled from his body. His eyes were fixated on her tires, watching them carefully with a slight smile, as she tried to copy his fluid movements. The two seemed to flow through the others, moving like water between the rocks as they gently twisted and turned yet again. Shadow even started moving round him on her own at some parts, which earned a wink from him in praise at her new found confidence. She smiled gently herself, her nerves still eating away at her mind, though feeling a little more down to earth. The song slowed even more, to which they matched the beat perfectly, Finn moving his hood and bringing it up to the side of hers, millimeters from touching. Her heart drummed harder, so much she felt almost hazy and breathless as she tried to control what emotions she had running through her mind. _What was this? What did this mean? What was he thinking?_ Questions barrelled through her mind faster than she could answer them, his eyes flicking to meet hers as he pushed at her gently, moving them both together in a circle.

The two seemed to slow down and time itself froze and faded away as Shadow could only focus on him… listening to his voice as he whispered what to do, his light and subtle touches on her side telling her where to go and what to do… it was just them for that short period of time. It wasn't long before the song ended, the last few tones reaching across the room, unwinding those that had taken the time to dance to it. Shadow reversed just a little as she looked back to him, a light smile on her features as she seemed to take in those moments they just had.

 **"** **Thanks…. For showing me, that is"** She said hesitantly, before he nodded his hood.

 **"** **Not a problem Carlisle…"** He answered, letting her move with him as he headed to the open bar to get them both a drink. After that, the night seemed to go much better for Shadow, the earlier incident with Jace all but forgotten from her mind as they toasted to each other's health. The party stretched rather long into the night, before agents eventually started breaking away, one by one going back home, some having work in the morning and grumbling about this rather vocally. Shadow had been too buzzed from the dance to go home early, like she had planned, instead staying in their little group until Finn advised it was time to get going. It concerned the Celica that perhaps things would become awkward once they were alone… maybe the dance had been a bad boozy choice on his part, though she had not smelt the alcohol on him. The two went back in relatively high spirits, much to the Toyota's relief, they didn't fall silent and awkward. Though once home, there was a moment where Shadow thought perhaps things might turn serious, all sorts of images passing through her mind. This caused her to panic… what was he expecting… she still didn't know what he had truly meant by wanting to dance with her… it hardly seemed platonic after all. To her surprise, he regarded with a gentle smile and a nod, touching her side gently as he moved away.

 **"** **I'll see you in the morning…. Try to sleep well"** He winked, before moving toward his own room. She smiled back and nodded, trying to hide the confusion on her face as he left, rolling with some degree of hesitancy to her own room. Once in the door, she closed and locked it behind her, leaning her hood on the cool surface as she replayed what happened over and over in her mind. He hadn't seemed too fussed about them going any further… no hints as to what he was feeling or even what was playing in his mind.

What was going on? That was something she asked herself over and over, as she lay on her sleeping mat, the Celica unsure and confused.


	6. Chapter 6

**Date: June 21st 2012**

 **Location: Wren's Hangar, London**

 **"I'd rather not have a Celica sized dent in my wall if you don't mind"**

 **"Wren I'm sad"**

 **"And from how long you've been standing in my front room thudding your hood against the wall, i'd say you're also mentally broken"**

 **"Yeah well…. You're rude"**

 **"Your face is rude. So tell me again, what happened?"**

 **"Nothing, that's the issue"** Shadow sighed at this point, reversing from the wall to look at the Super Corsair. Wren pulled a concerning look, as if waiting for the car to continue.

 **"Do you think he wanted things to go further? I mean… He didn't seem to… hint at anything in particular, he just… danced with me, drove home with me and then… well that's it!"** The Celica continued, waving her left tire around to emphasize her point.

 **"Do you think I missed an opportunity?"**

 **"To exclaim your undying love? Play it cool Shadow, come on"**

 **"It's not undying you fool. I just… ugh."**

 **"Hm… yeah… sounds like you have a total grip on it"**

 **"Wren I work with him, what the bloody hell should I do?"**

 **"When you get more stressed you turn more British"**

 **"Wren!"**

 **"Shadow!"**

The Celica decided this was the point to take a deep inhale, closing her eyes and blocking out the urge to launch for her friend. Perhaps for once she knew what it was like to be on the receiving end, though Shadow would always become the more childish one in the end and win.

 **"Right…. Maybe… it will go away on it's own. The more I work with him, the more I could see faults I don't like about him… or he might get on my nerves… and then I won't be quite so heavily into him"**

 **"So… you're going to try and ignore your growing crush on your boss"**

 **"Yes"**

 **"By... being with him more"**

 **"...Yes"**

 **"Ok, Shadow, that plan will 1000% fail"**

 **"You don't know that"**

 **"...Yeah, you're right, I don't see how in any way that this could fall flat on it's face. At all. At any point."**

 **"Yeah, yeah Mrs-I-Slept-With-My-Patient-On-Duty, tell me again how things are done"**

 **"...Shut up"**

 **"Besides, I'm sure after a while the novelty wears off, I'll be back to viewing him like a colleague again"**

 **"..."**

 **"Oh come on Wren, what's the worst that could happen?"**

 **Date: October 12th 2012**

 **Location: Wren's Hangar, London**

 **"Hm… So you want me to move here permanently."**

 **"It makes sense, Skipper. I have my commitments here, my job is something I worked incredibly hard to achieve… you can have a flight school anywhere.. CHROME is here"**

 **"So you would happily let me give up everything I have in the states"**

 **"Skipper… I just don't know how else we would… you know, raise a family."**

The male Corsair blew air from his cowling flaps in irritation, looking his wife up and down for a few moments. An uneasy silence fell on the two, both Corsairs staring at one another as the tense seconds ticked past. It was perhaps a decision that for most couples was easy enough to come to… despite the looming changes that would need to be made, the choice to have children for most was at least a happy one. Though for Wren and Skipper, this was fraught with problems and issues, with Skipper still living in the USA, and Wren working in CHROME, it was hard to coordinate any order in their lives.

 **"This is something we both agree we want… why is it so hard?"** Wren tried again softly, gazing at her husband, perhaps a soft plea in her voice.

 **"You need to face the fact that you need to give some things up"** Skipper seemed to respond vaguely, causing Wren's prop to spin a little in annoyance.

 **"Why is it always the woman who has to sacrifice?! Why can't you give some things up?"**

Unbeknownst to the planes at this point, a black figure had approached the kitchen window, seeing a small gap where it had been opened, snagging it with her hooks and pulling it open a little more. Shadow was still adamant she didn't want to use Wren's front door any time soon, and now only tried to break in during the day when she knew Skipper was around. The Celica waited until the window was level in front of her, before balancing once more on her back tires, using her suspension to push herself up. She was about to pull herself through fully when she heard the raised voices of the Corsairs. Concern flicked across her face as she heard the discussion echo through the hangar, always used to the more… quiet and loving embraces that the two gave each other, not the sharp tones that were being used now.

 **"A second ago you complained that it wasn't reasonable for me to ask you to move, why is it so okay for you to ask that of me?"** Came Wrens voice from the next room, which only drew a silence after it.

 **"Skipper answer me!"**

 **"You are always so damn obsessed with work and achievements Wren! Always! You** ** _CAN'T_** **have both, you can't** ** _BE_** **both!"**

 **"I'm just applying logic to the situation! I make more money than you do! It makes sense to do things my way!"**

A slight growl could be heard from Skipper, a noise that made Shadow back out just a little, unsure of where she stood. Their voices were only getting louder…. And it worried the Celica.

 **"OOH Here she goes again!** ** _'I make more than you, I'm better than you, I live in a damn dream world where I ALWAYS GET WHAT I WANT BECAUSE I'M SO MUCH BETTER!'_** **"** Skipper shouted, deliberately mocking her british accent, his voice laced with venom.

 **"THERE'S NO SHAME IN WANTING TO SUCCEED! IT'S NOT MY FAULT YOU SPENT HALF YOUR NAVAL CAREER STANDING IN YOUR OWN WAY!"**

 **"IT'S NOT MY FAULT YOU'RE A SNOBBISH, RANK OBSESSED** ** _BRIT_** **!"** Skipper spat, still mocking her accent. Shadow's heart was crashing by this point, hearing the hurt and vile insults they threw at one another…. Didn't they love each other? What was going on? They were the most loved up married couple she knew… what had gotten into them?!

Wren's voice was audibly shaking, her form hunkered down a little more as burning hot tears started to spill down her sides. The heartache and trauma was already starting to take it's toll, exhausting the plane physically despite the raging anger that had seized them both at this point. It was so rare for them to fight this badly…

 **"Awww is that stiff upper lip beginning to wobble '** ** _Dr Goodyear?_** **' DOES SOMEONE NEED A CUP OF TEA AND A-"**

 **"MY FATHER WAS RIGHT I NEVER SHOULD HAVE MARRIED YOU!"** Wren cried out in rage, shocking both Skipper and the Toyota, whom was scrambling backwards now as fast as she could, tires spinning as she spun and bolted away, the fight having shaken her too. Skipper could only stare numbly at his wife as the insult she had slung at him sunk beneath his plating. There was another silence, though this time, there was a thick tension behind it that could be sliced with a knife. The male seemed to look away for a moment, before slowly turning, facing away from her and her already sobbing frame. She watched him with pleading eyes, her anger ebbing away far quicker now than she knew what to do with. After hurling that at him, knowing full well everything they had faced… she could see the hurt in his very movements.

 **"Skipper… I didn't mean that…."** She spoke softly, fresh tears rolling down her sides, only to be met by more silence. She felt empty, the feeling burying itself fully within her form, slowly gutting her from the inside out… she couldn't believe she could ever have launched such a remark his way. She weakly started to follow her husband, trying to call his name gently, knowing that they had gone too far with this fight… too far.

Shadow was gunning her engine hard as she fled, slaloming through the London streets around the lazy evening stragglers, some in couples and others enjoying the last of the warmth the sun brought. The Celica's engine rumbled and growled as she pushed it harder, trying to make sense of the fight in her head… it wasn't right. She knew that they had been speaking of having children but.. Surely that wasn't right. Not to fight like that… they were so happy… so loving… this was ruining them! Before she knew it, she had pulled into the street that she lived on, rounding the corner too fast and clipping the curb with her tire. She hissed out as a bolt of pain shot through her axle, cursing herself quietly and trying to scold herself to be more careful, beginning to limp a little as she spotted the top apartment that she and Finn lived in, noting that Finn's bedroom light was glowing rather brightly. She slowed right down as she made her way into the apartment lobby, taking the lift to the top floor and slowly limping once more to the door. A panel extended to take her tire print, which she slid across gently, the door opening immediately afterward. She rounded the corner to the front room area, the room shrouded in darkness due to no occupants, which suited her fine. Instead, she made her way to the large windows she often enjoyed looking out of, gazing out at the view of London before her and sighing lightly. She didn't notice the silent form of the Faultless peer into the room, having heard her arrival, only to be mildly surprised when she didn't appear in his doorway. He flicked the light on with his tire, watching Shadow almost worriedly.

 **"Carlisle? What's wrong? You came home later today, I was waiting for you"** He spoke, glancing to the open plan kitchen area as he spoke. She didn't respond to start with, causing concern to spark through his expression.

 **"...Shadow?"**

The use of her first name caused her to look up just a little, knowing he always resorted to that when it was a little less formal. She lowered her hood a little and began reversing round, finally looking to him. She had to lift her injured tire up in order to do so, and this was something he spotted immediately. Before he had a chance to comment, she spoke.

 **"Please don't be mad…. But… I was at Wren's earlier"**

 **"Why would I be mad?"** He started, though seemed to click in his mind as to what she was perhaps doing at Wren's, he then seemed to sigh just a little. He was perhaps a little more concerned with her sudden strange demeanor however to bring her up on it as she began to speak again.

 **"They… they were fighting"**

 **"Skipper and Wren? Couples fight Shadow, it's normal"**

 **"This was different though… they sounded like… well, like they really hated each other. They were hurling insults and he was imitating her… I didn't think this whole 'having kids' thing would…. Tear them apart"**

Finn could see at this point that what she had perhaps witnessed was disturbing something deep within her, perhaps a part of her she usually locked away. He momentarily thought about trying to subdue it, though the idea that she was trying to lock any part of her away… was perhaps dangerous from an agent point of view. He knew he would have to try and work out what was wrong, without her even knowing what was wrong herself.

 **"They've been married years Shadow… They don't hate each other. Marriage is very complex and it takes work, sometimes arguments just happen. I'm very sure that they can patch things up"**

 **"Is that all marriage is? Just… arguing?"**

 **"No. But it's part of it. Unfortunately, the rows can be rather scary to watch"**

 **"Were you ever married?"**

Finn a little startled by the question, though seemed to recompose himself after a few moments. Shadow had asked once before about his past, to which he had been hesitant to tell her anything, though this wasn't a question that demanded details.

 **"No, I was not"**

 **"But why do the fights look like they hurt so much?"**

 **"Because no one knows your weaknesses better than your partner"**

 **"What if they turned against you? What if… they didn't love you any more? And then used your weaknesses against you?"**

 **"...Shadow…. Most married couples are not like that…"**

 **"My parents grew to hate each other though. They've been married for… well, years. They only came together because they had the same sense of twisted mind… but they hated one another so much that they would take their anger out on each other in fights so viscous, others that got caught up in it… were killed"** Shadow seemed to stare at the floor, her tank twisting as she thought back to the painful memories. Finn fell silent as he watched her, having finally found out what the deep issue was… and it was something she had willingly offered up. She had a skewed vision on marriage… and was desperate for her friend not to turn into what she had experienced as a child with her parents. He felt a sorrow build up for her, though it was also mixed with an urge to show her that what she grew up with… it wasn't right. Not everyone was evil and wanting to break her in some form. He wanted her to know that no matter what… he would never harm her.

 **"Your parents have shown you a terrible example… Shadow… no one I've ever known has ever been like that…"**

Shadow seemed to be avoiding her mission partners gaze, her eyes flicking to the walls as she tried to make sense of it.

 **"I just don't want her unhappy"**

 **"They'll work it out Shadow…"** He spoke gently, moving to her side and tapping her bad tire.

 **"What did you do? It looks painful"** He spoke in a low voice, eyeing her injured wheel with suspicion. She had it more tucked beneath her, as if trying to shield it away, though knew that she couldn't have fooled him.

 **"I only clipped it… it's just sore"** She tried to brush it away, though he nudged her gently.

 **"Come on, looks like you might need tea"**

 **"That's your answer to everything"**

 **"Well, is there any other way?"**

 **Date: October 13th 2012**  
 **Location: CHROME Headquarters - Medical Bay**

The previous nights sleep had been a disturbed and broken one for Shadow, spending a lot of the night watching one of her most prized possessions that sat upon her bedside table. It was a photograph taken when she first joined CHROME, pictured with both Finn and Leland either side of her, she always remembered that day with ease. It was a fond memory she treasured, and after Lelands death, she had put the photo in a frame and kept hold of it ever since. Though now, she was very carefully making her way through the halls of the medical bay, slipping into Wren's office for their usual start to the morning of tea and biscuits. It occurred to Shadow that things were not all ok as she rounded the doorway, peering in to see that Wren was facing away, cleaning parts of the counters furiously. She knew the plane loved cleanliness, but this was ridiculous. The Celica mentioned nothing for now, lazily watching the plane as she seemed to take her first world problems out on the floor, cleaning it so hard, Shadow began to have a genuine concern that it could erode away. Wren seemed to reach a natural stopping point, glancing up to Shadow in a tired manner, only to witness the Toyota drive across her sparkling, shiny floor. There was a moment that the elevators on the Corsair twitched, fresh irritation crashing through the plane before noting what Shadow was actually doing. For the first time in their friendship, Shadow had actually brought biscuits into the office. Wren watched, dumbfounded for a moment, before Shadow settled in her usual spot.

 **"So what's wrong?"** The Celica asked, eyeing Wren up and down carefully.

 **"Wrong? Nothing is wrong"**

 **"...I've never seen those worktops glisten quite as bright as that… it could very well blind someone"**

 **"You're not funny"**

 **"** ** _Au contraire_** **"**

 **"Stop learning words off of Finn"**

 **"Soo…. nothing's wrong?"**

 **"No"**

 **"At all?"**

 **"Nope"**

 **"Right…. Say, how do older men work?"**

 **"What?"**

 **"How would you say…. Get one to like you?"**

 **"...This is about Finn isn't it"**

 **"No, where on earth would you get that assumption from?"**

 **"Well because you-"**

 **"I like the name Valiant"**

Wren seemed taken aback to start with, eyeing the Celica with suspicion, rudder twitching in caution. Despite the almost child-like way that Shadow presented herself in front of everyone, she was an agent first and foremost… she was more than aware of what was going on at all times, even if she didn't let on. She had been trained to the highest standard… and Shadow had a clever way of making others forget that part. Wren found she had been holding her breath, exhaling slowly once her lungs started to ache for air, flicking her gaze away to examine the tiles on the wall. She felt the threat of tears begin to sting her eyes as she tried to keep a lid on her emotions… she couldn't cry. At least not in front of Shadow.

 **"That's… a nice name, yes…. Where did you hear it?"** Wren managed to speak, though her voice felt thick, quivering a little to which the Celica no doubt picked up on. Indeed, the car only watched Wren, as if waiting for her to continue the conversation.

 **"Shadow… what do names have to do with how older men work?"**

 **"Oh, nothing really. Unless you think there's a connection"** Shadow said carefully, watching the planes expressions. There was another moment that passed, perhaps slightly more tense as the two seemed to have a psychological struggle, seeing who would win out. Eventually, it was Wren that gave in.

 **"Skipper and I are having problems"**

 **"There we are"** Shadow smiled to Wren, moving to set the kettle on.

 **"What happened?"**

 **"It's complicated"**

 **"I have time"**

 **"Ok well…. The other week we were at my parents house, and my mother asked when we were… gonna have kids. Skipper hinted that he wants them… but it won't happen right now because I work too much... "** Wren started to explain, letting her gaze fall to the floor in defeat. Shadow moved quietly round the office, bringing together the tea and doing it in such a manner that she could only have learned off of her older mission partner.

 **"Apparently it's too much for me to ask him to move and quit his flight school…. But it's ok for me to give up everything here. In fact, it's expected. I don't understand why there's a double standard"**

 **"Have you tried talking it over in such a way that he understands? Weighing up what each of you would be giving up? Cause you'd still be making sacrifices even if you stayed in the UK…"**

 **"...No. We both started talking… then ended up shouting…"** Wren sighed, looking down as Shadow slid her finished tea in front of the plane.

 **"There's too much milk in that"**

 **"...Shut up and drink it"**

 **"... Better luck next time Shads"**

 **"Anyway…. Perhaps you need to approach it in a different way. You're both looking at what you would lose… not what you would gain"**

 **"...Have you been listening to Finn? You're being very grown up"**

 **"Excuse me, I'm the most mature agent there is"**

 **"...Au Contraire"**

 **"Now look who thinks she's being funny. Continue your tale of woe, come on"**

 **"Hmph, well, When i mentioned the money thing, he naturally took that as an attack on his manliness, because he's a backward, old fashioned, infuriating man!"**

 **"...I think you should remind him how much you have been through together... Or I could tell him"**

 **"Shadow I don't think that's wise"**

 **"In all of our time as friends together…. Trust me this once."**

 **"You keep blowing yourself up. No"**

 **"I only do it so I can chit chat with you some more and not get suspended for spending my work days doing nothing"**

This statement prized a small smile from Wren, despite the ludicrousy of it all, she was grateful that she had one friend that was perhaps willing to do that, even if she hoped the Celica was joking. It was a moronic way to get out of work, to say the least. Shadow returned the smile, taking a grateful sip from her tea, before the shrill call of her radio alarm sounded, indicating that someone was trying to get hold of her. The Celica instantly recognized Angry's number, proceeding to answer her radio with a little more sophistication to her voice. Well, she had to keep up appearances for her boss.

 **"Agent Carlisle"** She spoke, glancing to her wing mirror as Angry's voice could be heard booming through the device.

 **"Carlisle, I need you to report to my office immediately."**

 **"Roger that, Over"** Came the Toyota's reply, before giving Wren an apologetic smile.

 **"Looks like I'm in trouble again… I'll catch up with you later"**

 **"Please don't try to play therapist with my marriage Shadow"**

 **"Sorrycan'thearyoubye!"**

 **Date: October 20th 2012**

 **Location: Novorossiysk, Russia**

The night was still rather young when Shadow finally arrived on the Russian port, a chill to the air that caused her breath to rise as a swirling fog before her, the cars body shuddering just a little as she adjusted to the cold. This mission was a big one… her first solo mission. Without Finn by her side, she was certainly feeling the anxiety set in now… there was no backing out. It was no hidden fact that Finn and Shadow in the past several months had been hitting the big missions hard, coming out successful in almost every one they participated in with rather high results. CHROME was no stranger to gossip either, their success flooding amongst the agents, and before long even Angry was singing their praises. The older agents often gathered round to compare their learning partners, and it was agreed that Finn was a phenomenal teacher, as well as Shadow being an exceptional student. Due to her high praise, she was only growing more popular too, having even banished the 'carlisle' exterior from some vehicles minds, becoming her own car, only judged for her achievements and her attitude. Angry soon began predicting good things to come from her, and therefore became more than eager to place Shadow on her own on a mission, and truly test her as an agent.

All her success however didn't rest easy on one car in particular. The yellow Suzuki watched in envy and disgust as Shadow and Finn got all the credit and praise for stuff that he could do too! It wasn't his fault that his mentor was so stupid and slow. If his partner hadn't held him back, half their missions would be over and done with far quicker. To his dismay, he was often described as brash, and over-confident, as well as perhaps a little stupid, only in this job for the glory and this only caused Jace to become even more unreasonable… he wanted to be the greatest agent that ever lived. To prove all those naysayers wrong and become an unforgettable presence… he'd dreamed of trophies and medals at this job.. Not to be under the shadow of someone who's lights didn't even function correctly. It was this reason, when he caught wind of Shadow's first solo mission, that he did a little agenting of his own. Waiting for her to be absent from her office, judging by the way Finn had been waiting at the bottom of the ramp to drive home with her as usual, it wasn't long before the Celica emerged from her office and move toward her partner. Once they had vanished, Jace took to punching in Shadow's code on her door, having watched her earlier, and entered into the empty room. He quietly and slowly made his way round the office, picking up smaller bits of paper, glancing through the draws, before spotting what he desire. Her mission papers.

What he read only made his heart sing. This was a mission that Shadow truly couldn't afford to go wrong. She had been ordered to bring down an entire drug circuit… closely associated with her family. If this mission failed, it would either look as though she emotionally couldn't handle it, or that she was still aiding her family in their illegal endeavors. Having the perfect mission to ruin Shadow on, he proceeded to book a 'holiday' for himself, before then arranging to get to the mission site a day before Shadow did. The Celica suspected nothing, and now, as her gaze swept the empty horizon before her, she could not even begin to suspect what was to come. She lowered her form to the floor a little, immediately taking cover in the dark shadows that the night brought, staying behind a large shipping container for now, locating a small barred off ramp entrance up ahead. She knew from the provided intel that the circuit lay beneath the surface, so knew this was her quickest way in. She also had the knowledge of how her family operated their own rings, and with this one being in close connection... It was bound to be done in a similar way. With a growing confidence, she slipped past the docking ships, her exterior changing to a silver paint, her stripes staining blue, as she wore her more undercover disguise to throw others off. If any of her family were here, she knew she couldn't fool them altogether, but it would make them hesitate at the very least. It took merely minutes to get past the barred entrance, the ground sloping steeply into a pitch black interior, one that consumed the Celica as she slowly descended down it. She felt the cold prickle through her metal slowly as the darkness closed in around her, the feeling that someone was watching her becoming unshakeable. She inhaled deeply, though the damp walls only filled her lungs with air that felt dirty and unclean, and the car had to stop herself from coughing or choking it out.

The slope evened out a little, allowing her to ease up on her brakes a little, the red glow almost eerie as it followed her through the dark, and she could see a faint light up ahead. Keeping her vigilance about her, she slowly made her way toward it, seeing the flickering lights of what appeared to be a large room some way away, though the closer she crept, the bigger it seemed to be. She braked softly to a halt a few metres from the door, now seeing that it was in fact a very large warehouse storeroom interior, the building scaffolding being visible against crinkled metal plating. Large shelves towered above her roof, stacked high with boxes and canisters of varying sizes and colours, clearly some kind of order being put in place. These were probably filled to the brim with drugs and weapons, though they also provided her with cover, as she could hide behind different racks, all being set out rather like some illegal supermarket. A quick GPS sweep showed her that there were assailants round the back edges of the room, no doubt watching out for invaders such as herself, though she had no desire to get caught. She slowly rolled forward, looking around quickly and repeatedly, before bolting to the left, seeing large pipelines running the length of the building for her to drive on and hide behind. She used her grappling hooks to swing herself up, landing as quietly as she could, before jumping onto the next pipe, and the next, before she had nearly reached the ceiling, staring down at the organized chaos. She saw armed pitties making circuits one by one, a similar strategy used by her parents. She kept her body low and drove silently along the large pipeline, noticing a large hole in the wall to which the pipes vanished into, taking her above offices and large rooms. They were all dark, save for the second to last, which contained some very official looking vehicles, all male, sitting round a table with a map of the dock spread across it.

 **"The next batch will be here in 4 hours, then we can ship the mother load out to the Carlisles"** One was saying, which earned a smirk off the others. They were speaking in Russian, though Shadow's translator enabled her to understand what they were saying with ease, even if she couldn't speak it back.

 **"This is the biggest shipment so far… business is booming fellas. Another load like this and we can finally turn France into the hell hole it was designed to be... heck, we could even take England down with it!"** Another chorused, earning laughter from the others. Shadow dropped her body a little more on the pipeline, silently documenting it all.

 **"We'll be sending our load midday tomorrow, should reach the Chatham dock in England in about 2 days…. From then, it's the Carlisles to do with it whatever they wish"** A third spoke, who seemed to be the leader. The others were nodding in agreement, beginning to murmur their thoughts to one another, whilst the Celica was backing out. She had a lot of what she needed already… photos of the faces behind it all… a location and time roughly as to when the shipment would hit England… this was brilliant! Satisfied, she began reversing away, leaving them to carry on their little meeting whilst she made off with valuable evidence. She was still growing in confidence, and managed to turn, using her magnetic tires to stick to the steel below her, before moving back along the pipelines securely. She finally got back to the main room, planning her escape as she paused, assessing her surroundings and trying to get a good judgement, when a loud alarm sounded, twisting red lights on the ceilings now glowing as several pitties and cars swarmed into the room, causing Shadow to reverse back in the top corner more, looking down at those below. She couldn't be seen, thankfully, but her heart crashed hard as she saw all exits closed off and locked. She was trapped.

 **"Intruder! Intruder!"** Someone was shouting, causing the others to panic and speed up their searches, clearly having been alarmed by something. Shadow's mind raced now, trying to think of what she could possibly have done to alert them to her presence. When her mind came up with nothing, she saw a flash beneath her, and froze in place, trying not to be seen. A door opened, and the leaders she had just spied on were now rolling through, causing everyone to pause and look to them. The one she had guessed to be the leader came forward, looking to address his goons.

 **"We have been informed that there is an invader among us… either looking to steal, or to bring us down. Find them, and kill them"** Came the command, before the search resumed once more. Shadow scanned around her quickly, knowing that with nowhere to go, she would be found soon enough. It was at this point she noted the window in the center of the wall, though up on her level. If she could get to that…. She'd be scott free. Not to mention all that breaking in at Wrens… it would come in handy finally. She inched her way along the pipes, freezing everytime someone drifted beneath her, but continued on with determination. She was getting close, when an urgent whisper came her way.

 _ **"Shadow!"**_

She stopped once more, her heart racing so hard it was making her feel sick. She just wanted to get out… She looked to the level below her to see…. Jace! His mere appearance shocked her, and she immediately wondered what on earth he was doing here, though didn't have much time to ask.

 _ **"Jace?"**_

 _ **"Shadow help me! I'm stuck, my tire is jammed! I wanted to help out and be your back up in case you needed me!"**_

Shadow stared at the Suzuki in disbelief, unable to truly believe he was here… on her mission!

 _ **"You shouldn't be here! It's a solo mission!"**_ She hissed back, keeping her voice down as much as she could.

 _ **"I'm sorry Shadow! I just wanted to help! But… I'm stuck!"**_

She couldn't help but feel infuriated, having him barge in on her mission… no doubt it was him that set the alert off! She scowled at him as he sat watching her with pleading eyes, as she decided whether it was in her best interest of not to assist him. She felt the anger roll through her, and for a moment, reasoned about leaving him… though her rage never lasted long, and as it ebbed away slowly, she cursed herself for ever thinking such thoughts. She couldn't leave a fellow agent… and this could well be a test set by Angry to see how she would react. Without another word, she snagged his axle with her grappling hook, slowly winching him up, freeing him of whatever it was that was holding him back. She carefully hoisted him up to the pipe she resided on, as he panted gently from the effort.

 **"Thanks… I owe you one"**

 **"Yes well…. We need to get going"**

 **"Oh, but…"**

 **"What?"**

 **"I thought you would have wanted to say hi to your family…"**

 **"...What?"**

Before Shadow had a chance to ask anymore, she was rammed heavily in the side, her breath escaping and leaving her gasping for air. Another hit and she was slipping off the edge, her magnets scraping at the metal as she tried to keep grip.

 _ **"Jace.. what are you doing!"**_ She managed to hiss, though only received his smirk to begin with.

 **"Finishing what the Carlisles started"**

Pure fear shot through her frame at those words, just as a final shove from him caused her to lose what grip she had, sending her dropping to the floor. Shots rang out, as well as shouts and cries as the Celica plummeted toward the floor, the panicked car trying to find enough breath in those last moments before she hit the floor.

 **"Mission Compromised! 44.7154014 Latitude, 37.76-"**


	7. Chapter 7

**Date: October 21st 2012**

 **Location: CHROME Medical Bay**

A quiet atmosphere had settled in the CHROME lobby, rumours having spread of Shadow's failure already, judging by the distress call Angry had received only hours ago. There was usually at least a quiet chatter from cars that were dotted around in small groups, though silence was the only thing that ensued now, as several pairs of eyes were watching the sliver-blue Faultless drive back and forth, a fixed frown upon his face. Wren watched from her balcony, noting the stern aura that Finn carried about him now, knowing he was worried quite severely about the events that had taken place. It wasn't clear what had gone wrong… Nor what had caused the mission to go wrong, only that the distress call had ended rather abruptly, and no further contact had come from her directly. Luckily, Angry was always prepared, having commissioned Siddley to be on stand by and track her position, he had managed to fire into the warehouse and retrieve her, beaten and bruised as she was. Shadow had been out cold to start with, though had regained consciousness once more on the journey back, secretly dreading her arrival back to CHROME.

The double doors to the lobby swung open, the light piercing the building as all eyes swept to see the Celica limping through, her hood lowered as she was being gently supported by a medical pittie. Finn stopped his pacing, looking to the Toyota with a mixture of emotions. Fear and worry could be seen plastered across his face as he moved toward Shadow now, his entire body language tense. She moved her hood away from his approach, her eyes diverted away from him as she tried to think of the best explanation she could to reason why things had gone so badly.

 **"Carlisle, What…. What happened?"** He asked gently, looking her up and down as if to assess her injuries for himself. Her body was buckled, clear dents where she had been hit, as well as nasty scrapes and cuts. Who knew what other kind of damage she possessed, but he was relieved to at least see her alive.

 **"We were all worried.. That distress call-"**

 **"Was my fault"** Shadow started now, looking away still.

 **"I screwed up… It was my fault. I made a stupid mistake"** She continued, though Finn now frowned once more, not sure if he fully believed her.

 **"What happened? You're always so careful-"**

 **"I said it was a mistake, okay? There's nothing more to it. I let my location be known, they found me. I'll take the consequences"** She snapped quickly, causing Finn to widen his eyes in surprise. She had never spoken to him in such a way and it was very alarming to hear such a viscous tone from her.

 **"Carlisle-"**

 **"Leave it, please. I don't want to talk about it"**

 **"I don't-"** He started again, going to move in front of her, before Wren appeared, silent as ever.

 **"Finn, I'm going to need to take Shadow to the Medical bay for tests and repairs… I'm afraid you will have to work this out later"** She spoke with a no-nonsense tone, deterring the older agent from pushing things any further. Shadow still wouldn't meet his gaze, and he knew something wasn't right, but he could do nothing now but wait until Shadow was discharged. He felt the sting of worry still settle into the pit of his tank, watching as Shadow was taken away to have her wounds seen to. For now, he would wait until she was ready to talk and try to assure her that it wasn't her fault.. He couldn't truly believe that she was at fault here… something really wasn't right, and he could feel it. He knew he would find out the truth, one way or another.

 **Date: October 24th 2012**

 **Location: Wren's Hangar, London**

Despite having been in medical for not that long at all, it hadn't taken Shadow long to annoy Wren to the point of an early discharge, though much to Wren's dismay, Shadow had turned up at her house later that evening, her mind set on the burning problem that Wren had talked about a few days previous. With Skipper still present, the initial break in wasn't received well by the male, though he was more accustomed perhaps to the Celica's antics, even if she always managed to beat his wife home. Without fail.

 **"Clearly…. We need to compromise"** The male Corsair snorted, glancing from Shadow to Wren, unsure about how he felt upon the Celica's interference in the matter, though Shadow had approached the subject with caution…. Sort of.

 **"There is no compromise Riley!"** Wren immediately retaliated, and Shadow could already see the tension thicken in the air once more. Skipper opened his mouth to snap back, though the SuperCorsair was quick to cut him off.

 **"No! Don't you dare! Don't. You. Dare"** She seethed for a moment, props spinning a little.

 **"Ever since I met you, It's always been the same! I have to be the soft spoken one, whilst you flare your cowling and sling your bad mood around. Well now it's MY turn. It's MY turn to be angry! I've been so patient with you! You wanted long distance? You got it! You didn't want me in the navy anymore? I left! Mood swings, temper tantrums, using this hangar like a hotel… Spending time in America and…. Not here… I've been through it ALL with you!"** Wren finally seemed to break a little, tears once more stinging her eyes as she let spill all the cooped up emotion that she had been hanging on to for some time now. Skipper watched her carefully, for once keeping a hold of his lip and not snapping in response. Shadow was watching intently from the side, ready to step in if it was needed… Shadow hadn't let slip to anyone where she was going or what she was attempting to do, but she would have been naive to think that Finn wasn't onto what she was up to. He still wanted the truth about her mission, and it was evident she was avoiding him a little, knowing his routine rather well. He had kept quiet about his own plans, vanishing early on in the day in a bid to fool everyone into thinking he'd either gone home or to do something boring and mundane, like shopping. In actual fact, he had followed Shadow after she departed CHROME, tracking her all the way to her favoured window in Wren's house, sneaking and sitting below it to listen in to the conversation, ready to take Shadow away in case things between the Corsairs turned sour again.

The car watched as Skipper's expression slowly turn softer as Wren's words sunk into him, elevators twitching a little as he tried to think of what to say to make it better. He seemed to begin to see in this moment, that she was always waiting for him, but he was always too concerned with getting back home to really consider what it was putting her through.

 **"Wren… Sweetheart…"** He began, though words once more failed him. There was a moment of still that settled on the three, Finn still listening with bated breath as he thought of what could still go wrong. The Corsair moved now, using his wing to tuck her in gently and pulling her in toward him in a hug gesture, though being planes, it was a little more tricky. Thankfully, years of practice meant they had perfected this move.

 **"I miss you…. You star spangled prat…."** Came a gentle insult from Wren, to which Skipper gave a slight smile to her, a more settled atmosphere surrounding them now. Little to their knowledge though, Shadow was far from done. She had let Wren and Skipper come to a peaceful end, and having seen what Wren was constantly put through, it was not something that Shadow took lightly.

 **"That's all very cute and wonderful, and you may be able to win her over with a smile and a few nice words, but it doesn't cut it this time"** Came Shadow's voice, causing Skipper to shoot a gaze at her.

 **"Excuse me?"**

The tone of the Corsair made Finn tense a little, backing up as he judged the window and how quickly he could get through, ready to intervene should Skipper launch for the Celica again.

 **"Pfft, seriously, you have no idea what you put her through"** Shadow retaliated, causing Skipper to move away from Wren for the moment and stare at the Celica. Natural instinct told her to back away, with him towering above her, though she fought this feeling. If push came to shove, she'd be better prepared this time. Though she hoped it wouldn't come to that, Skipper needed to know the truth with what she saw so regularly.

 **"Shadow it's fine, we can-"** Wren began, but the Toyota was quick to cut her off.

 **" _Bu-Bu-Bu!_ No, Wren, he needs to listen for once"** Shadow stated, returning her own harsh gaze to Skipper, something she only really did when she really believed in something.

 **"Skipper you literally have no… clue, as to what Wren really goes through when you vanish off to your comfy little life in the states… you really have it good, I hope you realise. You get to come here whenever you wish, lounge about and have Wren run round after you, then return home whenever you wish and do whatever the hell you want whilst Wren is never right for days after you leave. It upsets her to come back here to an empty hangar each night whilst you do whatever makes you happy. As long as you're enjoying yourself, I suppose that's all that matters eh? As long as YOU are happy, screw everyone else right? Including your damn wife!"** Shadow seemed to drive toward him a little, though the way she was looking caused Skipper to glance to Wren in an unsure fashion, though the SuperCorsair was busy watching her friend in slight shock. She hadn't realised that Shadow really paid attention, though again, Shadow had a clever way of covering up the fact that she was rather intelligent, by acting like an idiot, so it shouldn't have surprised her.

 **"You seem to pay no attention to the fact that every second Wren gets with you is precious to her. She rushes home every day after work to spend as much time as she can with you when you're over here, cause she misses you so damn much. She watches you leave on the airstrip every time you go home and she stands there long after your silhouette has gone, like she's waiting for you to change your mind about taking off without her and come back. But you never do. And you have no idea how heartbroken she looks when she realises that you aren't in fact going to turn around and reappear."** She continued, still staring hard at the male. Finn was still by the window, listening closely and using his mirror to watch above the windowsill and judge by Skippers body language how he was going to react.

 **"I would give anything to have someone look at me the way she does with you, to have someone that is truly that upset when I leave, countdown the days the way Wren does until your next meeting and is that excited when I come back. If I was ever lucky enough to find that, I would never, ever take that for granted… Wren loves you to death, why can't you see that what you're doing…. She would do anything for you and she's stuck by you through all this time… it seems to me you're only thinking about what pleases you most. Chrysler, I mean, why not have kids? You are both happily married and have been for years… this is meant to be insanely happy for the two of you! You'd both make great parents… I mean she's a doctor and you're a teacher… you should stop the 1st world problems here…. Enjoy it"** Shadow seemed to finish, causing Skipper's expression to soften once more. It was finally hitting home in the Corsair just how much he put his wife through, the comments that Shadow made still ringing in his ears.

 **"She…. she has a point"** Skipper seemed to half grumble, though he was looking to Wren as he spoke. Wren smiled gently in return, moving forward and brushing her nose against his in a soothing motion, the two becoming distracted in comforting one another. It was here that Shadow decided her work was done, slipping away slowly and back to her 'escape route'. Little did she know that Finn was still there, having heard everything she had said, it had rendered him a little speechless, his mind cranking rather quickly as he soaked in what she spoke of. She had no idea….

He heard her approach, and bolted to the side of the building as silently as possible, peering round the side to see Shadow making her way rather smoothly out of the window, her break ins now rather flawless. Once she landed safely on the grass, she seemed to stop, staying still as she stared at her hood a little as her own problems seemed to come back to her. Sure, she could try to help others… but not herself. Her failed mission still hung above her, a dark cloud blocking any happy thoughts she could have had. That, and the growing feelings she had stirring within her for the one car that couldn't know… She sighed out, as she thought of how easy Wren and Skipper made it seem… And then there was her, who couldn't seem to even get any kind of romance going, let alone a stable relationship. Finn watched her have some kind of inner struggle for a moment, before a loud sigh escaped the Toyota, her engine revving gently as she pushed herself forward, her mind whirring. Her thoughts drifted back to failed mission with Jace, realizing that she hadn't seen the Suzuki since. She frowned a little, remembering her finished paperwork about the mission was still on her desk, ready to hand in, though hesitation and anxiety had prevented her from doing so.

She thought about returning back to the office for a moment, before deciding against it… she couldn't face CHROME at the moment, and was fairly sure at this point Finn would still be in the office, and she couldn't face him right now. He wasn't stupid… she knew that. He could see that something hadn't sat right on this mission and she was perhaps being foolish to hide it from him. Finn watched her leave quietly, knowing that he would have to arrive back home later on to avoid any suspicion, though by the time he would eventually return, he was a little hurt to see she had already locked herself in her room, avoiding any and all contact with him.

 **Date: October 24th 2012**

 **Location: CHROME Headquarters**

She began the slow journey back to her office, her mind elsewhere and thinking deeply, practically merging with traffic and traveling on autopilot, until she saw the towering building of CHROME before her. She hadn't noticed it had in fact actually taken her a couple hours to get here, though upon entering the lobby doors, something felt off. Glancing to the top offices, she could see that both Finn and Angry were not at their desks, and that her own door light was green…. Great. Someone was in her office.

She slowed down upon approach, the exterior of her office being glass so she could peer in easy enough. Immediately she recognised both her superiors sat there, leafing through the document she left on the desk, which made her cringe just a little, remembering how exactly she had described the mission. She was sure at this point that Finn had deliberately dragged Angry in to make her confess what had happened... A couple of other agents were in the room also, ones she didn't recognise, though one she noted was actually Jace's mentor and partner…. Someone knew something. Angry lifted his gaze as her door slid open, the Celica laying her eyes on each presence before her, lingering just a little longer on Finn as he regarded her with a serious expression. She stopped before her desk, the silence making her uncomfortable and shift a little as she waited for someone to speak.

 **"Carlisle, I cannot accept these forms"** Angry started, glancing to her mission papers, flicking the paper up a little with his tire.

 **"I wasn't finished with those-"**

 **"You know it's a crime to lie on your mission details, don't you?"**

 **"..Yes.. I… I do-"**

 **"And are you positive this is what happened?"**

 **"Why do none of you believe me?! This is what happened on the mission-"**

 **"Shadow…"** Finns calmer tone washed over her now, her gaze moving from the BMW to the Faultless as he cut in.

 **"It's not in your character to make such a… novice mistake. You excelled with top scores in all your stealth classes, and exceeded all my expectations… you were caught rather easily in this, and beaten up. You're hiding something, a good agent needs to be honest, how can you expect me to teach you if you're not honest?"**

 **"I…"**

 **"How can we be mission partners if there is no trust between us?"**

Shadow backed away a little as Finn approached and despite his gentle tone, she felt cornered and flustered. If she let them know that Jace intervened, it would only make things worse for her. She had no idea Jace was there… perhaps the mark of a bad agent, not knowing her surroundings. Her gaze dropped to the floor, feeling stupid and childish as she could feel the slight prickles of tears sting her eyes, avoiding Finn's eyes as best she could. She backed up a little more, hood lowered as she tried to think of the best way out of it, her tank churning and making her feel sick. She gagged for a small moment as the rising feeling tensed her entire body, the automatic door sliding open once more as she backed up further.

 **"I-I'm sorry, I have to go"** She mumbled, reversing out the office and bolting through the corridor, hearing Finn's calls as she left. She burst into the Medical bay frantically, startling the SuperCorsair from her work, as she towered above a busted Chevrolet agent. Wren noted immediately that Shadow was paler than usual, and seemed to be hyperventilating with no ability to control herself, and moved her immediately to a small bay, pushing Shadow in place with concern.

 **"What the hell has gotten into you?"**

 **"Finn….Angry…. Mission…"** She panted, her panic mode from the sickness still high.

 **"...Ok, so is Finn angry? Or is it Finn and Angry…. Spit it out and stop dying for a moment"** Wren replied, watching as Shadow closed her eyes and forced herself to calm down. Wren was aware that Shadow couldn't deal with sickness well, after her family busted her up and ripped parts out, it always made her feel ill and weak, so therefore she associated the feelings now, whipping herself into a greater panic.

 **"Finn…. And Angry… cornered me about the mission…"** She finally breathed, exhaling slowly as she did so.

 **"So why did you run away?"**

 **"Cause I can't tell them what happened"**

 **"What did happen?"**

 **"Wren, I can't say anything. I won't be able to live it down and it'll damage my already crumbling reputation"**

 **"Hey, what's said in this room, stays in this room. Unless you're talking to Phil. In which case you kill him first"**

 **"Wren…"**

 **"I'm being serious! I wouldn't pass on your business, perhaps it might help to get it off your hood. You… certainly helped me and Skipper out when you intervened. Why didn't you say anything the other day? Being friends is a two way street Shadow… you should have let me know you were struggling"**

 **"I know Wren but-"** The Toyota began, though the low rumblings of engines cut her off as Finn and Angry slipped into the medical room, looking about for a moment in curiosity and finally spotting Shadow with Wren. The SuperCorsair snorted as they made their way over, moving toward them with a scowl.

 **"No more than one at a time here please, you're going to have to leave"** She said sternly, though Angry only scowled back.

 **"Goodyear, stand down, this is important"**

 **"What? Excuse me, but this is my area. This is a place for agents to get healed and recover… it's in Carlisles best interests that you wait outside. I'm doing what's right by my patient"**

 **"Very nice, I'm doing what's in the agency's best interest, stand aside Wren"** Angry warned the SuperCorsair, causing the two to glare at one another. A thick tension seemed to grip them all quite suddenly, Finn at this point moving to slip by and up to Shadow's side, giving her a somewhat worried glance. He said nothing to begin with, his gaze drifting to her wheel arch as he slowly moved his wheel to brush at yet another scuff that Shadow had obtained. Her gaze lowered once more, though she felt him nudge her a little as Angry seemed to drive around a very irritated Wren. All eyes fixed in the Celica for a moment as Shadow raised her gaze to Finn finally, who seemed more troubled with her silence.

 **"Shadow we know what happened…"** Finn sighed, glancing to Angry, whom only nodded. Shadow felt her heart nearly stop, her breath leaving and eyes widening in panic as Finn watched her reaction. How did they know? She racked her brain quickly for answers, though when none came, she seemed to clear her throat a little. They were most likely calling her bluff… They didn't know. Surely?

 **"Please. Tell me what Jace did"** Finn urged gently, causing Shadow to rip her gaze from the floor and back to her mission partner.

 **"W-what?"** The Celica could only stammer, her heart rate increasing at this point. _How? How did they know?_

 **"I should perhaps make you aware, Carlisle, that agents deployed on their first solo mission… have their headlight cameras activated. A live feed is then produced and sent directly to me. There is no use lying."** Angry finally spoke, and Shadow stared in disbelief. She had no idea of this protocol...

Another silence passed, and the car could now feel Wren's eyes upon her in addition, sinking further into her spot. Finn still hovered closely, apparently not intending to speak until Shadow answered his request. She averted her gaze once more before feeling herself relent… there was no use trying to deny it now.

 **"Ok, well… I suppose things weren't… exactly as I told them…"** She began, glancing up to see Finn's expression still rather calm. He nodded his hood to encourage her, to which she looked away again, exhaling deeply. 

**"I… I still blame myself, I should have seen he was there but I-"**

 **"Shadow"**

 **"Ok, alright. It was after I had obtained the info, I was making toward my escape route and remained undetected until they started shutting everything down… Like they knew I was there. It was then that I heard Jace calling and… he claimed he needed help. I attempted to help him and once I freed him, he…. Pushed me over the side. My mission was compromised by another agent"** She finally admitted, looking away. If she were to be honest… it felt like a large weight had been lifted off of her roof…. Though she still felt terrible for making another agent look bad in this way… even if it was Jace. There was a moment that passed after, to which Shadow wasn't sure what else to say, looking once more to Finn, who was smiling gently. He rubbed her side in praise, before Angry spoke.

 **"Thank you for your admission Carlisle… It must be duly noted that the agent responsible for this shall be suspended until further notice"**

 **"..Me or Jace?"**

 **"Do you see me handing you a notice right now with your suspension?"**

 **"...No?"**

 **"Well then."**

Shadow shifted again, looking to the floor as she played with her tire a little in distraction, feeling rather sheepish by it, though once more feeling Finn touch her side in reassurance.

 **"Despite what happened at the end… You were doing an excellent job Carlisle. We were impressed how you handled yourself. Though, I also have to firmly remind you that a major part of your job is to report back to McMissile or myself, you are not to keep information to yourself. That is not the mark of a good agent."**

 **"Yes sir, Roger that"**

 **"Very good"**

It was with that, the BMW turned and drove slowly away, his engine rippling at the silence that once again hung over seemed to sigh, slouching a little more in her spot, before glancing to Wren wearily. The SuperCorsair seemed to raise an eyebrow, though moved on quickly, allowing Shadow to stay in her small reflective moment. Maybe she wasn't such a bad agent after all.

 **Date: November 15th 2012**

 **Location: CHROME Headquarters - Medical Bay**

 **" 6 Letters Across, another word for 'Stupid'...**

 **"Hm… How about ' _Shadow_ '?"**

 **"Ha. HaHa. Funny. How about ' _Corsair_ '?"**

 **"Shadow that's 7 letters"**

 **"Yeah well… I had no comeback"**

 **"...This isn't what I called you in here for"**

 **"Yeah but you leave the crosswords when you read the paper and I like doing them"**

 **"... Shadow"**

 **"Hm?"**

 **"I've found that I'm…. a little bit pregnant"**

 **"...What? Wait… really?"**

 **"Yeah!"**

 **"Oh my Chrysler! Wren! That's fantastic!"** The Celica abandoned the paper she had been holding to drive up the plane now, a permanent smiled fixed on her face.

 **"And… Perhaps a good thing too"**

 **"Why's that?"**

 **"Well I noticed you were… getting a little… you know…."** The Celica started, before puffing out her cheeks a little at the Corsair.

 **"I was gonna tell you to.. You know, lay off the biscuits a little"**

 **"...How illegal is it to murder an Agent?"**

 **"Very. But anyway that's… amazing! How far gone?"**

 **"About 12 weeks… but it's too soon to tell anyone yet, keep it hush okay?"**

 **"Ok sure sure, what does Skipper think?"**

 **"He's over the moon… buuut there's a small issue"**

 **"And that is?"**

 **"We only really kinda planned for one"**

 **"Oh… you having two!?"**

 **"...Not quite. I'm having four"**

 **" _FOUR_?!"**

 **"...Yeah."**

 **"Wow….. Ok well…. Congratulations on ruining your body!"**

 **"Very funny"**

 **"What? I'm right you know"**

 **"Screw you. You're rude"**

 **"You're face is pregnant rude"**


	8. Chapter 8

**Date: May 9th 2013**

 **Location: CHROME Headquarters - Medical Bay**

A series of soft bleeps could be heard drifting down the corridor, mainly produced by the heart monitors of the injured but sleeping agents currently being treated. It was a calm atmosphere, as if peering through a hazy fog as medic pitties and cars slowly drove into different rooms, seeing to patients and speaking in low murmurs. It was only the calm before the storm, as a heavily pregnant Wren sat in her office, a fan blowing a steady breeze throughout the room. Her undercarriage was swollen to a rather large size, carrying four babies was not light work, and the SuperCorsair often found herself tired and puffed out, despite the four months left to go, meaning it was only going to get more difficult for her. Fortunately, Skipper was around a lot more now, having moved permanently to the UK in the last couple of months, eager to help Wren out with her pregnancy. He would meet her everyday after work, and take her home, which the SuperCorsair was always grateful for. London during rush hour was a pain at the best of times but having him around made it that little bit better, and that little bit more protected. As her body grew in size, Shadow had become both intrigued and obsessed with it, often feeling Wren's side to see if she could trigger any tiny kicks from the babies within. It hadn't gone unnoticed to the medic that Shadow was spending more and more time not doing her job, and hanging around the medical area to talk to Wren and speak to the babies. The SuperCorsair found it somewhat sweet, though couldn't help but wonder where Finn thought she was going for long periods of time.

The Celica had also noticed that Wren was getting more and more tired as time went on, understandably, and wasn't able to do things as quickly as she should have been, which gave Shadow the idea of helping Wren out at her job. The missions were coming in slowly, most being given to the other less experienced agents, with teams like Finn and herself being reserved for when something major came up, which gave the Celica a lot of time to burn. The idea of Shadow helping out wasn't immediately received with a huge amount of enthusiasm, due to Shadow's knack of blowing up and seeming generally clumsy, but the car was persistent, eventually wearing the pregnant plane down into agreeing. Besides, there were no bombs in the medical area, what's the worst that could really happen? The first day wasn't a huge amount of fun for the Celica, more filing paperwork, filling out forms and tending to the already recovering agents. Some poked slight fun at her, asking if she'd changed profession, though it was light hearted… everyone knew that Shadow was a good agent now, and her family name no longer played a part in how they saw her. The second day however, was going to be a little different.

It was now that the Celica rolled in, seeing the peace that ensued in the medical rooms caused her to smile a little. She was more ready to deal with paperwork now, it was better than doing nothing after all. The Celica rounded the office, spotting Wren scanning over her papers, a smirk appearing on the agent's face.

 **"Been targeting the canteen again have we? Are you craving dirt yet?"**

 **"Oh you're hilarious. Not that many pregnant women crave dirt you know. Plus, No, I've been nowhere near the canteen. Makes me sick"**

 **"Right…. But who ate all the pork p-"**

 **"Get in the shower"**

 **"Whoa Wren please…. Dinner first, I'm not that type of car-"**

 **"You know full well that's not what I meant. Get your bumper in there now before I decide to give you mad tractor disease. Or Yellow Fever. Either one works"**

The Celica snorted a little before looking to the back of the office, feeling Wren nudge her toward it in a more impatient manner.

 **"Wait you're serious? I had one this morning, I don't need another"**

 **"Yes you do, you'll be using this at least five times today. We have an entire day of surgery lined up, and you'll have to be so clean, you're one paint layer away from being bald"**

 **"...Nice"**

 **"Phil will help scrub you down, I need to-"**

 **"Ok I'm more than capable of showering by myself"**

 **"You sure? You sure you don't need a rubber duck and a kids towel too?"**

 **"Just because i'm smaller than you does NOT mean that you need to mother me"**

 **"No, the fact you can't keep yourself in one piece for a month straight means I need to mother you"**

At this point, Shadow chose to pull a face at her friend, before another shove caused her to reverse into the shower fully, shaking her hood.

 **"Oh, brace yourself"**

 **"For what?"** Came the Celica's question, just as boiling water poured down onto her hood and roof, making her yelp out in surprise.

 **"A good agent is prepared for anything"** Wren said smugly, watching Shadow try to get away from the heavy stream of water.

 **"A good agent wouldn't be taking a shower in her friend's office…. They'd be on mission. Like they were hired to do"**

 **"Just shower already! We're on a tight schedule…. Unless you can't handle it?"** The SuperCorsair challenged the car a little, a knowing look in her eye.

 **"Pff I can handle it. I'm Shadow Carlisle after all"**

 **"Then scrub"** Came the final response, before the shower doors were abruptly closed on the car, leaving her in the boiling waterfall that was already making her feel light-headed. Despite the days prospects looking a little… surgical, the Celica was actually rather looking forward to getting stuck into something different, being easily bored with repetitive and mundane tasks. She emerged several minutes later, shinier than she had looked for a long time, as Wren started to move out of the office. Shadow grinned and followed eagerly, already buzzing about their first assignment.

 **"Okay then, first patient, bullet wound to the main oil line. He's been sedated and we have to perform rather quickly, we don't have a lot of time on this one"**

 **"...Hm…"**

 **"...What now?"**

 **"It's funny actually… You actually do doctor stuff! I thought you just shuffled your papers and looked busy!"**

 **"You know I'm not Angry right? I actually do work!"**

 **"Yeah well…. We're always busy talking, I never notice you do anything"**

 **"Pff yeah, alright well, concentrate now please"** Wren suddenly snapped to work mode, causing the Celica to become a little more serious in the process. The SuperCorsair turned into a closed off room, two nurses already there checking the machinery that the agent was hooked up too, soft groans leaving him as he tried to stay awake through the sedative. His eyes were closing and blinking slightly as he tried to fight it, though eventually he lay still, only his breathing moving his body.

 **"Right, he's out, let's get moving"** Wren started a flurry of activity in the room, the agent being slid onto a ramp, one that opened underneath so operations could be performed with ease. They rose him up in the air a little, so Wren could get underneath, but also check under his hood if need be. Shadow had been instructed to wear a mouth cover, having fiddled with it a considerable amount, she managed to get it over her wing mirrors and watch with slightly widened eyes as the plane then started cutting open various parts and trying to fix the issue within.

 **"Shadow, knife please"**

 **"..."**

 **"Knife!"**

 **"Oh! Right, yes"** The car now snapped into action, pushing over Wren's assorted tray of… surgical delights, including wrenches, knives, scissors and a fancy looking saw. It looked to Shadow like something out of a horror film, and she wasn't feeling so great about it suddenly. There was a moment of silence, as oil splattered and dripped onto Wren's paintwork and wings, an almost cold chill running through the Celica's body as her eyes stayed fixated on the SuperCorsair. Flashes of memories burst into her mind, remembering the oil covered faces of her mother and father as they tore another pipeline out from her body, causing the Celica to shake her hood rapidly of these thoughts. It was a long while ago now…. They weren't here. And she was no longer in that pain… Despite her best efforts, she knew she would never be free of the memories ingrained into her mind of her family's torture upon her, but the best she could do was to try and move on. She diverted her eyes away for a few moments, her mind escaping the room and trying to distract herself when Wren suddenly declared it was over, moving back and lowering the agent slowly. Shadow exhaled in response, realizing that she had infact been holding her breath throughout the whole thing, a bitter sickness laying in the pit of her tank.

 **"Uh…. y-yeah that's great…. What now?"** Shadow asked in a quieter manner, as Wren pulled off the mask, discarding it into the rubbish bin.

 **"Well, judging by this list, the next one is a little bigger. Some poor sod dislodged his engine and has received some quite substantial damage. Nothing that I can't handle mind you, though perhaps the almighty agent would like to sit this one out?"** Wren teased lightly, not having realised Shadow's previous state. The Celica scoffed at her friend, shaking her hood.

 **"Bring it. I'm ready for anything!"**

The two then left the room, returning to Wren's office so the plane could once more shower, freeing herself of the oil and fluids that currently flecked over her body. After making a reluctant Shadow take yet another shower, it was then time to move to the second surgery room, the first being emptied of the recovering agent. Wren looked to the charts strapped to the wall beside the broken Mercedes, frowning a little as she quickly figured out in her mind what order to do her work in. The car was already unconscious, so she went straight to work with popping the hood and investigating the damage for herself, sucking her breath in through her teeth a little.

 **"Hm…suspected as much"** Wren mumbled to herself, causing Shadow to creep closer to have a peek at what she was looking at. The Celica was no expert in how the car body worked, but even to her, with the mangled mess that the pipes were in, and the buckled engine, it was clear to see something was very wrong. Wren immediately disconnected parts to the engine, trying to prevent any form of start up, before working her way through the dents and scrapes to try and relieve what would be causing the most amount of pain. Once again, before long, oil and fluid started to cover Wren's mask, peppering her body also as she worked, the Celica staring at the scene before her. Her tank churned as her thoughts turned helplessly once more to her memories… maybe this is what it looked like to others when her mother was-

 **"Shadow!"** Came the bark that snapped her out of her thoughts.

 **"Yes! What?"** The car responded, causing Wren to roll her eyes.

 **"Pass me the wrench"** Wren repeated, turning a little to look directly at Shadow with a stern tone. Shadow gasped slightly, the image of Wren's bloodied mask and the very phrase she used transporting her back to her young teenage years, the medical room disappearing in a cloud of darkened fog as she was sucked back to the horrors of her past. She could feel the ash filled air choke her lungs, the heat of the burning fires scorch her metal as yet another explosion shook the foundations of the unstable platforms. The sky was an ebony black, no stars shining to give her hope, the thick black smoke covering any form of outside life, no way of reaching out for help.

 _ **"Pass me the wrench"**_ _Came the sudden order, the Celica lowering her eyes to see the oil covered face of her mother, whom was staring directly toward her with a smirk._

 _ **"We'll make sure Shadow pays attention next time you tell her an order, Garek"**_ _She continued to speak, her voice dripping with acid as Shadow once more felt the chill of defeat. Her body ached and throbbed, the pain already inflicted still gripping her body as her mother once more pushed down on the young Celica's bumper, glancing into the already half beaten machinery._

 _ **"Let's see…. Ah yes, been a while since we touched that!"**_ _She seemed to laugh a little, taking the wrench and using it to rip her radiator clean out. A strong hissing sound occurred as the Celica screamed out in pain, her brother and father either side pinning her to the floor as they always did. Tears rolled down her sides as her entire body trembled, parts of her already feeling numb. Her own oil made the floor slick and hard to grip, the small Toyota panting from the effort of trying to stay awake._

 _ **"Please… No more, I can't take it, PLEASE!"**_ _Shadow pleaded desperately, her heart thudding hard, her head spinning wildly as her eyes came in and out of focus. Her father growled next to her, yanking her front tire toward him and putting his entire weight suddenly onto it, hearing the snap of the axle before her body erupted in pain. She screamed out again, the noise covered by yet another explosion that occurred nearby, the force vibrating the floor violently._

 _ **"You don't speak until you're spoken to!"**_ _Her father snarled, another warning in his voice. The Celica sobbed out, squeezing her eyes shut as she tried to back away desperately, fearing that this time… they would kill her. Her bumper met violently with the wall as she was pushed back, eyes still squeezed shut as she refused to look anymore, her hood having been sawn off and discarded, giving her nothing to hide behind._

 ** _"Shadow open your eyes when I'm speaking to you!"_**

 ** _"Shadow!"_**

 **"Shadow!"**

The Toyota gasped once more deeply, her eyes shooting open, coughing violently as she tried to reverse once more, equipment falling around her as it fell off the shelves above. Wren and the one other nurse in the room stared at the car as she tried to thrash herself out of an invisible grasp, before staring back, hyperventilating in the process.

 **"...Get her out of here now, take her to my office. Call Finn"** Wren instructed, watching Shadow with a great deal of confusion. The nurse wasted no time, guiding the wobbly Celica to the next room and keeping her there, the car shaking non-stop. It didn't take very long for the Faultless to come practically bursting through the door, having received the message from the nurse and assuming the worst, despite knowing she wasn't on mission. His eyes focused on her immediately, driving up quickly and once more casting his gaze over her for any immediate exterior damage.

 **"What happened, are you hurt?"** He fired his question immediately, looking to her side and frowning briefly when he saw no damage. Shadow was still trembling, keeping her gaze to the floor, her breathing still erratic. She said nothing, making no attempt to converse or even register the presence of her mission partner, which caused even more concern to spark across his face.

 **"Carlisle-"**

 **"DON'T call me that"** Shadow's voice broke the air sharply, causing Finn to reverse just a little from the sudden outburst.

 **"Don't….. Don't call me that…"** She nearly whispered, her gaze dropping once more, tears stinging her eyes as she continued to tremble. Finn grit his teeth together as he tried to work out what was wrong, beginning to nudge her side a little as Wren rolled in, eyes casting warily over the two cars as she attempted to address the elephant in the room.

 **"What… on earth, was that all about in there?"**

The Celica didn't respond to begin with, her breathing not slowing nor her shaking subsiding, until it occurred to the car that Finn was currently tracing a figure of '8' on her side with his wheel, a calming tactic that he knew the Celica would respond to. As predicted, she lowered herself a little to the floor, relaxing under the fluid motion as her mind slowly pieced itself back together, forming reality back into her head as she finally looked up to Finn, seeing his expression slightly pained. He was clearly worried, a frown etching itself onto his features.

 **"I…. I don't… know. I kind of…. Wasn't in control of my thoughts…. I could only imagine…."** She stopped, burying her hood into the floor for a moment, unable to continue.

 **"I still don't know what took place"** Finn prompted gently, though looked more to Wren now to answer his question. Wren sighed slightly, resting back on her landing gear as she thought for a few moments, trying to pinpoint when it went wrong.

 **"She's been helping me with my work. We were just in surgery, I was tending to Agent Crow's busted engine-"**

 **"You let her watch open surgery?"** Finn now interrupted, watching Wren here and hoping he'd gotten the wrong idea.

 **"Yes, she offered to help. I wasn't aware it would - Ohh Chrysler"** Wren stopped, realizing at this point what could have caused Shadow to behave in such a manner.

 **"Wren! You of everyone should know that putting her through that was going to be a terrible idea!"**

 **"I didn't think she'd react in that way alright?! It was an oversight on my part"**

 **"Oversight?!"**

 **"It's fine, I'm fine!"** Shadow piped up suddenly, causing the two to stop their heated debate and turn to her.

 **"I should have known that it would have… played some weird stuff on me. So I'm as much to blame, okay?"** Shadow spoke, mainly looking to Finn.

 **"It should have been realized sooner, after what you went through-"** Finn started, still clearly a little defensive over the matter, though Shadow stopped him.

 **"I only wanted to help Wren…."**

 **"You did help me Shadow… it's ok. Come on, I have some other stuff that you can help with"**

 **"She's not helping you with more surgery… As her mentor I have to persist it's for her own good that she-"**

 **"Finn we are going out shopping and for lunch"**

 **"Right….Good"** He relented, looking to Shadow once more, concern still etched on his face, but at least he seemed a little more relaxed about it. It didn't take much longer for Wren to reassign the surgeries amongst her team of staff, giving each instructions on what to pay attention for whilst Shadow recuperated, Finn sticking relatively close for the moment. After the main work had been dealt with, Wren turned to Shadow and motioned for her to follow, the two beginning the short trip to a long road full of shops and cafe's that they could peruse at their leisure. There was one shop in question that Wren made a point to stop near, peering in and eventually rolling through the doors, Shadow having accidentally driven straight past. However, when the Celica reversed and followed the plane, her eyes went wide with glee as she spied the shop stuffed to the brim with everything baby related. Toys, Small Baths, Training Wheels, Cots, Trailers, Baby Friendly Paint… it was all here, anything that an expectant mother could ask for. The entire shop smelt of talcum powder, and Shadow practically wriggled with excitement as Wren moved rather gracefully for her size through the aisles to get a look at the blankets. There was a moment where she seemed to pause, the Celica not noticing due to her wondrous staring of the entire shop until she ran into Wren's rudder, shaking her hood as she pulled away.

 **"Wren? Everything ok?"** She asked, peering under the SuperCorsair's wing as she spoke.

 **"Hm? Oh I'm just… mentally preparing myself"**

 **"For what?"**

 **"The Salesmen. They're annoying"** She sighed, watching as a few cars rolled around with clipboards, attempting to get mothers or their partners to buy more. Shadow smirked and nudged her friend on a little, moving beneath her wing.

 **"Awww Don't worry Wren, I'll protect you!"** The Celica smirked, causing the plane to roll her eyes and move forward, deliberately clipping the small car as she did so. As Wren had predicted, one spied the pregnant plane and came zipping over, a cheerful smile on her face, her paint a bright red.

 **"And a good morning to you mother-to-be! How are we today?"** She asked in a rather sweet voice, looking from Shadow to Wren. Wren rolled her eyes and glanced to Shadow, who was making her way along some other shelves, having abandoned her friend to the perils of sales cars and becoming broody over some of the pictures of babies that could be seen in some frames. A wicked smile crossed the planes face, waiting until Shadow was back in earshot, before giving the sales car a polite smile.

 **"Oh! I do apologize, but you have us mistaken…. She's the mother…. I'm the surrogate. See, her husband is a plane… I'm carrying the babies"** Wren spoke as smoothly as she could, causing Shadow to stiffen in response. Wait…. _What?_ Shadow spun around quickly to see Wren giving her a mock wave with her wing, as the sales car charged at her with her clipboard.

 **"Oh my goodness surrogacy! You must be so excited!"**

 **"Wait, I'm not-"**

 **"You must tell me dear, what are you expecting? More than one? It looks like you could be having multiple!"**

 **"That's not-"**

 **"That's such a nice thing for that plane to do for you! It must be hard to conceive as a car with a plane!"**

 **"I-"**

 **"But never you mind, I'm here to make sure that you have everything you need during this exciting time!"**

 **"Hang on-"**

 **"Now come right this way madam! We can get you all signed up!"**

 **"I don't need to be-"**

 **"Nonsense dear, we need to make sure you're all ready for the arrivals! So, what's your name dear?"**

 **"Uh.. S-Shadow"**

 **"Lovely name, it suits you very well… Now then, I'm just gonna run through a list with you-"** The sales car continued, taking a bewildered Shadow off to the side, no doubt to guilt trip her into handing over far more of her personal details than she wanted to. Wren could vaguely hear them in the background as she scanned the blanket designs, picking out in her mind what each one would look like in their room. Occasionally she would hear Shadow's voice stall as a rather intimate question was asked, feeling the Celica's eyes burn into the back of her canopy at all times. There came a moment when Wren turned round to see that Shadow had vanished, pursing her lips for a moment as she pondered where the Celica had gotten to, only to turn around to see the car had appeared in the space before her, a frown on her face.

 **"Hey Wren."**

 **"Oh hey Shads… so, how'd it go?"**

 **"Quite well…. Hey did you know they have a sale on baby feed right now?"** Shadow asked sarcastically, giving the plane an unimpressed look. Shadow raised a brow as Wren sniggered, catching the cars spoiler in her wing and dragging her off, determined to get to lunch as fast as she could. Being unco-operative, the Celica allowed Wren to drag her backwards for a while, until they were out of the shop entirely. To make up for the fact that Shadow had to practically hand over her contact details for fear of her life, Wren mentioned that Shadow should choose where they ate, and when it was made clear that Nandos was out of the question, Shadow decided on a little cafe that overlooked the river that ran through London. However, the Celica could only laugh as the large swollen plane ordered a salad, after her own order of Carbonara.

 **"If you're gonna order a forest, why not at least a burger?"**

 **"Shadow, I'm pregnant, not fat"**

 **"What's the difference?"**

 **"HAHA you are too funny"** Came the bored response, though another wicked grin appeared on her face as she watched the Celica for a moment.

 **"So what's going on between you and Finn then?"** The plane asked with a completely innocent expression, Shadow choking on the water that she had decided to drink at that moment.

 **"Wren, I just thought…. Did you leave the oven on?"**

 **"...We came straight from work"**

 **"Oh yeah… nevermind."**

 **"Right, so, you and Finn-"**

 **"Are you scared of the birth?"**

 **"Not really. Have you two actually done… anything since that dance?"**

 **"I would have thought that childbirth would be the scariest part"**

 **"Not even a kiss?"**

 **"You know, some small creature ripping out of your body like something out of 'Alien' "**

 **"...Do you even still like him?"**

 **"Okay so how about those biscuits huh?"**

 **"...Shadow"**

 **"You know, If I had to put my bets on the next agent to get busted up it'd be-"**

 **"Shadow!"**

 **"...Hey that was my guess"**

The medic took a moment to breath in and hold her breath, for fear of reaching across the table and pummeling the car in front of her, exhaling louder.

 **"Come on…. You and Finn…. Where are we with that?"**

 **"Nowhere"** The Celica sighed eventually. **"Nothing at all.. Well…. No, that doesn't count…"** She seemed to pause over a certain bit of information, though the SuperCorsair wasn't about to let that slip.

 **"What? What happened?"** She pressed, causing Shadow to look up at her for a moment.

 **"Well… we… there was a point we did almost kiss…."** She trailed off, before Wren's jaw dropped open.

 **"Shadow!"**

 **"What?! Nothing… happened, it didn't go beyond a mere hint that it might have happened"** The agent added, watching as the waiter came back with their food.

 **"Wait so…. You went to do it and… then what?"** Wren asked again.

 **"Well, we seemed to stop, and then it kinda… just went onto mission talk….I guess I kinda… pulled away. I didn't know if…. That's…. What he wanted"**

 **"Oh god Shadow… You should have gone through with it! Right… you need a new plan.. You need to make it happen again!"**

 **"Wren, I'm no expert but I'm pretty sure you can't just make those moments happen"**

 **"Not exactly, but you can set up the scenario for one. What do you typically do when you get in from work?"**

 **"I dunno, it changes each day. Though most days I'll sit and watch him cook… it's quite interesting actually"**

 **"Then that's it!"**

 **"You're being vague again"**

 **"You'll cook him something! A nice meal for him, ready for when he gets in"**

 **"...Wren, I can barely keep myself from participating in some random explosion on mission, how do you honestly think I will deal with cooking?"**

 **"Nooo I don't trust you to actually cook something, I'll make it, then you can stick it in the oven for about 10 minutes to heat it up… it's practically fool-proof"**

 **"...Uh-huh….."**

 **"Oh come on, like he'll know"**

 **"And I thought I was the one with the weird schemes…. Don't take that from me Wren. What else do I offer this friendship?"**

 **"Come on… Phil has the medical bay running smoothly… Angry won't know you're gone cause I'll put you down that you were with me at work all day. I'm not lying, it's just… not quite the same location"**

 **"...Why do you already have this thought out?"**

 **"Not because I was planning our escape from work if ever we needed it"**

 **"...Of course not"**

 **"Another thing we need to tackle, is how you flirt"**

 **"What? No… Nooo I don't need to practice that. At all. No."**

 **"How do you expect to get anywhere with him if you give him no signs?"**

 **"I don't know, I just… thought he would have… guessed from the way I spent so much time with him…."**

 **"Shadow…. Men are basic okay? You need to spell it out!"**

Both vehicles stood in the spacious kitchen in the SuperCorsair's hangar, Wren looking over a bubbling pot of water, the burners alight with fire as she dragged out more pots and pans. Shadow had persisted a little with not needing any help, though Wren was adamant she needed it. This had gone on for quite some time now. Unbeknownst to the pair, Skipper had stuck his nose into the doorway, surprised to see them both there.

 **"What are you doing back so soon?"**

 **"I'm helping Shadow get the man of her dreams…"**

 **"I am trash"** The Celica responded, to which Skipper snorted a little.

 **"That's nothing new…."** He commented, though seemed to make his way into the kitchen now, making Shadow move a little to get out his way. He approached Wren carefully, brushing his nose against Wren's bump, a soft purr seeming to leave his engine. Shadow looked away for a few moments, the tender moment Skipper showed as he rubbed into his wife's stomach rather awkward for the car. Plus she had never heard a plane make that noise before.

 **"What are you doing Checkers?"** Wren asked softly, though a small smiled played at her lips.

 **"I haven't seen you or bump all day"** He replied back tenderly, Shadow still looking away whilst all this happened in front of her. Wren shifted as she began to feel the kicks of the babies, recognizing Skipper's voice and reacting quite actively. The older Corsair gave a light chuckle, glancing to his wife.

 **"My unborn children are beating me Wren.. what have you been teaching them?"**

 **"Teaching them how to hand you your aft!"** Wren smirked, as Shadow eventually turned her gaze to them, unable to help herself as she saw them together. They were certainly affectionate and happy together… it placed a sense of longing within the car… with her own history of abuse and rejection, she just wanted to be loved now. And perhaps Finn was the answer. She cleared her throat in an embarrassed manner, catching Wren's gaze as the SuperCorsair glanced back, before continuing on their original conversation.

 **"Flirting face… Go!"** Wren instructed, causing Shadow to glance worriedly at Skipper, as the male intently watched her with a smirk.

 **"I…. don't really have a… flirting face…"** Shadow said feebly, though her expression was becoming a little flushed, even with her black paint.

 **"Hmm… ok, a good one is when you have a drink. Just hold the drink to your lips, look into it, but then flick your gaze up to watch him… it gets them everytime"** Wren spoke with an air of experience about her, trying to get Shadow to imitate her expression. It wasn't too long before Skipper was laughing harder than perhaps he should have been, causing both Wren and a conscious Shadow to watch him with frowns.

 **"Heh...watch this…"** Wren whispered, before she approached him slowly.

 **"What's the matter Navy boy?"** She said in a lower sultry tone, eyes half closed as she crept closer to him. Skipper immediately ceased, backing up just a little as his face began burning, embarrassed at the sudden change of events. Shadow began laughing at Skipper in turn now, earning a scowl from the plane as Wren triumphantly moved away, her point having been made.

 **"It's all in the flirting Shadow, you make sure and give Finn your best eye contact…. And you hint…. You hint like there's no tomorrow. If worst comes to the worst… you tell him, okay?"**

 **"Tell him?"**

 **"Yes… you tell him how you feel"** Wren said sternly, leaving the car to dwell on this for a moment. The idea of telling Finn how she felt was daunting to say the least.. Not to mention the problems that could arise from such a confession. She was setting herself up to be hurt, for him to have to let her down gently and say there was nothing there, and that it was only friendship. Even if Finn returned the feelings… it was whether CHROME allowed personal relationships between agents, with several reasons posed against the idea. One such reason being in case one of them were to get into trouble on mission… the other agent could perhaps try to get to the one in danger, compromising the entire mission… Shadow gave Wren a final grin as the plane showed her what to do cooking wise, before eventually placing it all on a tray, wrapping it up and giving it to the Celica. The car seemed to take one last look at the affections between Skipper and Wren, as he fussed about getting her to take a rest, he would clear up for her. The same feeling of longing filling her, before she made a beeline for the door, the plan clear in her head. It'd be easy… pretend to cook, give him some wine, and then flirt… see if he catches on and finally… admit feelings. It couldn't go that wrong could it?

She tried to go through all possible scenarios in her mind as to what could ideally go wrong, something that perhaps wouldn't do well for her sense of peace, but would keep her prepared in case the worst happened. She crept through the halls of the apartment building, once more going to the top floor where they both lived, listening carefully to hear any movement. She could see from the scanner that no one had entered the apartment since they left this morning, so knew immediately she was safe. She rolled her tire over the safety device, watching it turn blue to allow her access, before pushing open the door and making immediately for the kitchen. Minutes later, she had placed the food carefully in the oven, letting it warm up gradually, poured wine into two glasses and set the lighting low with the dimmer. She took a moment to create 'mess' on the counters, to insinuate that she had been indeed 'cooking', before looking around with a bit of a smile. Yes… it looked convincing enough!

The Celica took the opportunity to roll to the window, relaxed in this moment that perhaps everything wouldn't be as bad as she so often pictured. He had danced with her after all…. And the near-kiss was enough to tell her that perhaps there was something more than just a passing fancy. As the Celica stared at her wine glass by the window, she saw a reflection run through it, a silver/blue car passing in the streets below as Shadow recognized her mission partner. She smiled upon seeing him, though immediately her nerves started to dance in her tank. This seemed to be really happening now… She tensed for a moment, taking a sip of wine as she heard the faint whirring of the lift, causing her to move anxiously to the kitchen again, unsure of where to place herself for when he came in. Before she knew it, the door opened, Finn not appearing for a few moments as the living room wall was in the way. Shadow rolled cautiously to the edge of the kitchen, watching as the Faultess appeared round the corner, a smile appearing on his face once he laid eyes upon his partner.

 **"Dare I ask what's going on?"** He spoke with a grin, the very sound making her tank twist once more in worry.

 **"Heh, I...Well I thought it would be a nice change if… I did the cooking for once. You do a lot for me.. And always have done… I wanted to repay the favour in some way"** She smiled back, though her general appearance seemed nervous. She rolled forward slowly, sliding his wine glass to him, and being careful to leave enough space for him in case he didn't feel like being smothered.

 **"I think that's very generous of you… But you really don't need to go to the effort, Shadow. I enjoy doing that for you…"** He started, though a slight frown came to his face when he watched her more closely.

 **"Carlisle, are you alright?"** He asked with some concern, which made her bolt upright a little on her tires, fixing more of a smile on her face.

 **"I'm fine! Honestly! Just… earlier still has me a little rattled"** She trailed off slightly, looking away. It wasn't entirely false, though she wasn't as affected as she could have been.

 **"I should have known that you were going to be subject to what happened… I should have stepped in and-"** Finn began to say, though Shadow cut him off quickly.

 **"No, no Finn it's… It's ok. You weren't in any wrong. I should have known myself but… I'm more ok than I would have been"** She started to reassure the older car. He glanced at her as he took a sip from his glass, a questioning look on his face.

 **"Would have been?"**

 **"Yes… If that had happened… a few years ago then I would have been a nervous wreck… I wouldn't have been able to… to function again mentally for a while. CHROME has helped me…. You've helped me"** She said softly, her gaze lowered as she watched the wine in her glass for a few moments, before lifting her eyes once more to look at him, in a move similar to what Wren showed her. Finn physically seemed to blink uncertainly for a moment, before that familiar suave smile came back to his lips, looking her up and down briefly before he went to speak again. As he opened his mouth to reply, a loud alarm suddenly chorused through the room, causing the Celica to flinch a little at the noise. It was here, she realized that the food had been left in the oven still, with the temperature set quite high! The burning smell now drifted through the apartment, the panicked car rushing straight back into the kitchen as the sprinklers erupted with water, coating everything that lay in its way. The Faultless followed her and watched as she opened the oven doors, black smoke billowing out and across the floor. She coughed loudly and waved her tire to try and clear the black fog, the fire alarm deafening her to the point all she could hear was ringing. Moments later, she had shut down the appliance, and pulled the burning food out of the shelves, now sitting on the counter side, looking less than appetizing. The Celica couldn't quite believe how quickly things had gone wrong, the car soaked to her core as she shut down the alarm, Finn tipping water from under his hood to the floor. Luckily, protective measures were in place around the flat, meaning that covers automatically appeared to protect furniture and the floor, though not the two cars that were now in the midst of a soaked kitchen. Shadow let out a loud sigh, shaking her tire out a little before reversing a little, just as Finn went to approach her again.

 **"It's alright Shadow we can-"**

 **"Uh…. It's… fine. It's ok. I have…. To clean up"** She made a half attempt at trying to cover up her shame, something as simple as forgetting food in the oven… yeah, that looked fantastic. She slinked off to the shared bathroom they had, Finn watching with a slightly sorrowful expression. He could tell that she had wanted to make an effort for him, before he gave a small sigh himself, looking about the kitchen and setting about cleaning it up rather hurriedly. Shadow stood in the bathroom for several minutes, leaning against the wall, softly banging her hood on the side. Ugh, why did she have to be such a muck up! The Celica moped for a while longer, before hearing a gentle knock at the door, hearing Finns muffled voice afterward.

 **"Shadow… come on, we can start again"**

 **"I'm fine Finn, I just need a few minutes"**

 **"Come on now…. Don't be like that…"**

 **"I just need to… uh… rethink things…"** She finished with, causing Finn to purse his lips for a moment.

 **"I can see how hard you worked to make it special… I'm very grateful for the effort you went to. The food smelt rather good until it burst into flames"** He said with a smile, Shadow hearing that smile in his voice as he spoke. She took a few seconds to decide what to do, the door slowly unlocking as Finn successfully picked the lock, and opened it to see her there.

 **"Come on… we'll have a go together…. You need a cooking lesson it seems"** He smiled, as Shadow averted her gaze, remaining silent.

 **"At least this way you won't have to ask Wren to cook for you again"** He added, Shadow's eyes snapping wide open and staring at him for a moment.

 **"How did you…. Were you stalking me?"** She asked, stunned, just as Finn started laughing.

 **"Only Wren would organise the food on the trays like that"**

The Celica looked down once more in embarrassment, following Finn out of the bathroom and once more into the kitchen, seeing that he had indeed cleaned up rather well. She still remained rather quiet as he began to decide what to do, leaning against the counter to slide certain ingredients over to him, noting the silent manner of his companion. He waited a few moments before grinning gently to himself, deliberately sweeping the counter with flour, before using his tire to chuck a good quantity at her hood. It hit her with a 'thud', to which she gasped in shock, a fine cloud of flour now surrounding them.

 **"You need to cheer up… The only other cars I see that are that miserable are all in the CHROME prisons…"** He smirked, seeing her surprised expression through the slight flour haze. She smiled gently, shaking her hood so some of it fell to the floor, and he resumed his work. Moments later, another tireful of flour hit her in the face, causing her to reverse back and laugh. She watched him once more, tipping what flour she could into her own tire, her gaze never leaving him all the while. Finn saw this motion and watched her carefully with a smirk, eyeing her movements.

 **"Easy Carlisle…. Don't start what you can't finish"** He teased lightly, before she smirked herself, launching the flour right back. He dodged, retaliating by launching a tray toward her. She activated her tire magnets, using it to block the flying tray and use it as a shield as he followed the attack with another sweep of flour. She flew toward him, Finn attempting to dodge the attack once more, though his bumper hitting the cupboard and stopping his reverse. She clipped his front, though he used his grappling hook to snag her back axles and pulled her backwards, her tires screeching a little as she tried to steer. She then managed to throw a wooden spoon at him, which he deflected, though this distracted him from the packet of sugar that exploded on his hood. This carried on, the pair using what agent skills they had to deflect and attack one another with pots, pans, trays and even food, flour laying in mounds upon the floor. One final attack caused Shadow to skid to the other side of the kitchen, the Celica giggling as she came to a stop. Finn was chuckling on the other side, panting a little from the effort of her fight, both of them covered in flour and sugar for the most part. Once they had both calmed, Shadow managed to grab a cloth to try and rub away what she could on herself, chuckling every so often as Finn smirked.

 **"You put up a fair fight… you've learned well"** Finn gave a mock authoritative tone, to which Shadow pulled a face.

 **"I've learned from the best…"** She smiled, focusing on her hood for the moment, the tickling sensation it gave her was becoming too much. Finn chuckled once more, moving to her front and taking the cloth, rubbing her hood to help her with the bits she couldn't reach. They both became silent as he worked, Shadow's eyes half closed as she enjoyed the relaxing feeling it gave her, his tire sweeping to her fender and running it round to her chin to aid her where she couldn't see. Shadow's gaze flicked up as his tire lingered at her chin, her heart beginning to race as he looked her over for a moment, seeing the fight in his eyes suddenly. The moment was almost tense, as they both looked at one another, trying to work out how the other was feeling. Slowly, gradually, Finn began to pull her in, their bumpers getting closer and closer together, feeling his breath as her heart crashed harder and harder, tank twisting and unable to breath, unable to think…. Pulling her in so close, just millimeters away from touching...


	9. Chapter 9

**Date: May 9th 2013**

 **Location: Shadow + Finn's apartment, London**

It was a full 30 seconds of heart thumping tension, the Celica unable to focus as Finn pulled her in a little further, their lips just about to touch, when the shrill sound of the phone rang. The high pitched noise made them both flinch, Finn's eyes on hers for several moments as the decision he faced seemed to weigh on his mind… Shadow begged him inside to ignore the irritating sound, to refocus on his current task. Her heart was in her mouth, her entire body rigid and tense as she was so near to him… so close… Though a sigh escaped the Faultless, his tire dropping from her chin as he moved back a little, making his way slowly around her to pick up the ringing device. Shadow's entire body slumped on the spot, the moment passing and the tension easing… though it only made her feel more empty if anything. She stayed in the kitchen, her mind emptying slightly as the disappointment sunk in, hearing the older car pick up the phone and answer. It was only a few moments later, his hood popped round the door frame, a more than confused look on his face.

 **"It's for you…. Something about… for when your babies arrive? Is there something perhaps CHROME should know?"** He asked carefully, eyeing her cautiously, though she couldn't help but notice that he sneaked a peek at her sides, to which she reversed a little, before grabbing the phone.

 **"No, there isn't. Thanks"** She answered simply, a clear dismissal for him. He took a few moments to move, reluctant as he seemed, and left Shadow to her own devices. With a small sigh, she realized the phone was still on hold, to which she then pressed on it a little to answer the call once more.

 **"Hello?"**

 **"Shadow! How are you this evening? Now, after our chat earlier, I'd just like to also offer a three month subscription to 'Baby Monthly-'**

 **Date: May 10th 2013**

 **Location: Wren's Hangar**

The deep booming laughter of the Corsair bounced around the room, causing Shadow to stare at the male plane with both vengeance and disdain.

 **"It's NOT funny!"**

 **"Oh it really is… Tell me again about the part where the phone rings!"**

 **"Wren if you don't control your husband, I'll be filing a 'Missing' report for him tomorrow morning"**

 **"Skipper, that's enough. But why didn't you go after him? Say something afterward?"**

 **"I tried to but once I'd finally come off the phone… he had shut himself in his room and… That was it. I haven't seen him since… I stayed in my room until he had left for work and I've not been to my office all day… His overlooks mine so I see him all the time… I just can't right now"**

 **"Oh Shadow… I'm so sorry that this happened"** Wren spoke sympathetically, shooting a warning glance to her husband as he sniggered once more in the corner.

 **"It's fine… I guess I'll just keep a low profile for now"** The Celica sighed, though the SuperCorsair gave her a gentle smile.

 **"Well… stay here as long as you need"** The plane offered, the car giving a small nod in response. There was a subdued silence as Wren slid a can of oil over to the Celica, the car once more nodding her thanks before Skipper seemed to recover enough to start speaking normally.

 **"I don't think you have much to worry about"**

 **"Oh?"**

 **"No… It'll blow over before you know it"**

 **"I only hope you're right"** She sighed, looking out the window to the already fading light. She wasn't sure she wanted to face the Faultless right now… it was much too awkward for her, and only confused her mind further. Does this mean he did like her? Or that he was caught up in the moment, for it to lead into possible regret and embarrassment later? Who knew. The next few days, Shadow spent helping Wren in the medical bay, refusing to go to her apartment. She could see from the mirrored windows that Finn would often glide past her normal office, peeking in and waiting for a small while like he usually did after work, only to realize that yet again she wasn't appearing, before giving up and going home. She felt bad… but she wasn't sure what else to do right now short of actually mentioning the incident… which Shadow didn't seem keen on doing.

It was in the afternoon of her third day, Shadow was in town once more to get supplies for Wren, speeding past the baby shop with some sharp revs, determined not to be caught by the salescar again, when Finn's figure seemed to appear from nowhere, the two almost colliding due to Shadow's speed. She managed to stop a few inches in front, Finn seeming unfazed by the action, a gentle yet suave smile on his face. A moment passed where they looked to one another in silence, Shadow opening her mouth to speak hesitantly, though the Faultless cut her off.

 **"We're running out of the nice car soap at home. You know, the one you like"** His tone was light and friendly, and didn't seem to hint at any embarrassment or awkwardness on his end.

 **"We are?"** She asked in a half mumble, glancing around her in order to distract herself.

 **"How have you been feeding yourself?"** He asked suddenly, concern finally flitting onto his face. **"I haven't seen you in 3 days, but your tracker said you were around so-"**

 **"I've been at Wren's, I'm ok"** She answered, giving him a small smile in return. He seemed concerned, at least.

 **"Good…. Good."** He murmured, nodding his hood slightly as he too looked away now. It only took a moment for him to regain his confident exterior, seemingly happier with her explanation.

 **"I was just about to go to that small cafe near CHROME… the one we used to go to all the time, remember? Would you care to join me?"** The car now spoke, his smile almost infectious to the Celica.

 **"Sure… yeah I'd… like that"** She returned his gaze for a moment, before turning around to face the direction he was headed in.

 **"I think I must have skipped lunch today"** Shadow admitted now, falling in her usual place next to him, the feeling of normality returning. She was grateful that he seemed to be acting normal, as she wouldn't have been able to stand the idea of at least not being his friend… Though the image of him being romantic and having attachments to other women… it made her feel a little queasy. She had to keep reminding herself that Finn was in no way attached to her.. She had no right to act as a jealous lover would, despite her own feelings and emotions. She made a mental note in her mind that soon, things would be forgotten about, and hopefully, she could move on from this mess.

 **Date: July 1st 2013**

 **Location: Wrens' Hangar**

The dawn was breaking over yet another day in London, the streets stirring to life as the early risers began their daily commute to workplaces all over the city. Once such riser was Wren, the kicks of her babies having kept her up half the night, she figured why not get up a couple of hours early. Skipper was usually up at this time, as his old naval routine was still within his body clock, waking him up to all sorts of noises and times in the night. He was standing outside, watching the day roll in, though hearing Wren move about caused him to turn and greet her, rolling back in the house to nuzzle her nose gently. Their mornings were never usually chatty, though they didn't have to be. A few more minutes passed and Wren was ready to leave, beginning to say her goodbyes to the male plane when she paused for a moment, something not feeling quite right. She couldn't place what it was immediately, something just feeling off in the way she was, but her confusion was answered when a cramping pain seized her body, taking her breath away immediately. Her gaze flew to Skipper, who was at her side in an instant, seeing the pain etched on his wife's' face. Another cramp caused her to cry out in pain, the worried Corsair beginning to panic at the sudden urgency of the situation. Several thoughts flew through his mind… It couldn't be happening now. She still had two months to go…

11am. It was never like Wren to be this late. The young agent kept flicking her gaze through her office window, toward the Medical area where she knew the plane was supposed to be, almost as if she would catch Wren wandering in. The Celica sat for a few moments pondering, tapping her tire on the floor as she tried to think in her mind of what could have possibly made her this late… with no call, no anything. Shadow was growing impatient with worry, finally relenting with the paperwork she had been doing for the past 3 hours, and slowly driving to the Medical Bay, poking her hood in as the familiar disinfectant smell greeted her. Wren's clocking in sheet remained untouched, causing Shadow to once more feel disappointed, and even more worried, even though she knew the likelihood was that Wren still wasn't here. A figure passing near caused her to reverse a little and look round, seeing Phil before her, an almost sad expression on his face.

 **"She won't be in today"** He simply stated with a gentle voice, gazing at the checking in board. The celica watched the green Mini for a moment, frowning slightly.

 **"You know what's going on?"**

 **"Yeah… She's in labour"**

 **"What?!"**

 **"Well she's pregnant with four.. It was bound to happen early"**

 **"Will she be okay? Is she at the hospital? Did she-"**

 **"Shadow, she's the head medic here…. I'm sure she knows what she's doing. She has to, she's having** ** _his_** **kids after all"** He replied, but something about his tone made her silent.

 **"Is… everything okay-"**

 **"Listen Shadow, don't ever sit and watch those you love just slip away, okay? If you have something to say to someone, you say it"** Phil continued, ignoring the Celica's question. At his words, her mind instantly flew to Finn, and how she still had things under wraps… unsure of where they were right now. But… how did Phil know about them? Perhaps an educated guess?

 **"I… Well I've tried to-"**

 **"No matter what, you SAY something before it's too late. One day they will be out of our grasp and into someone else's"**

 **"Well, maybe not always someone else-"**

 **"That's what happens… You're slow…. And you miss out on the most beautiful thing that you've ever looked at…"**

It was here that Shadow's eyes widened just a little bit. _He wasn't meaning her and Finn…._

 **"You…. Wren?"** She seemed put together the pieces in her mind. Him and Wren. _He loved Wren._ The Mini seemed to see her match up the details in her mind, a desperate look on his face.

 **"Shadow you can't tell her!"**

 **"Tell her what, Iknownothingokay?"**

 **"Please! She cannot know!"**

 **"She won't! I havenoideawhatyou'retalkingaboutanyway"**

Phil seemed to relax here, sighing out a little as he slumped on his tires a little more.

 **"It's just…. Everything she does… It's graceful to look at…"**

 **"Um…. okay"**

 **"The way she files her papers in that neat order…"**

 **"Ahem.. yeah that's…. That's hot alright"**

 **"The way she gazes over the charts…"**

 **"..."**

 **"Even the way she demands things… it's so attractive…"**

 **"...This is a nice carpet"**

 **"She always demands her tea a certain way…"**

 **"This carpet is nicer than the one in my office"**

 **"I sometimes deliberately get it wrong so she can give me some of her attention…. Even if it's shouting"**

 **"I bet Wren prefers tiled flooring though"**

 **"I'm always around to watch her work… when she's assessing me… Chrysler I love those days…."**

 **"I bet tiled floors are easier to clean"**

 **"Just her and me… her watching every move I make…."**

 **"Chrysler Phil, get it together"**

 **"My name is not Phil"**

 **"...** ** _What?_** **"**

 **"My name isn't Phil"**

 **"...Um…. So what is it then? Please don't say something like 2013xox or something-"**

 **"No! It's Sebastian"**

 **"Sebastian"**

 **"Yes"**

 **"... So WHY are you going round with Phil as your name?"**

 **"Because Wren prefers it"**

 **"...Oh of course, silly me"** The Celica responded sarcastically, earning a wary glance from the doctor.

 **"I'm being serious…. It happened when I first started… Wren decided that the name Sebastian couldn't be shouted efficiently in anger, so she renamed me to Phil"**

The Celica could only stare at Phil/Sebastian for a moment, unsure of how to progress the conversation from where they were currently at.

 **"...Wow…. okay….You know what…. Uh…. I think… I think Finn's calling me…"** She started to back out the medical area now, giving Not-Phil a smile.

 **"Again… please don't tell Wren!"**

 **"Ohhhh don't worry… I have a feeling it won't get mentioned…."** Shadow assured him, before turning and bolting toward her office. Wren was a married plane! There was no way she was going to bring THAT up. As she drove back with a rather rapid speed, she finally spotted Finn, driving toward her with his usual suave smile. Within moments, she had dragged him off to one side, much to his surprise.

 **"Carlisle what's going-"**

 **"Wren's in labour!"** She blurted, scanning his face for any shock or surprise. Instead, his expression remained calm, his smile growing a little more.

 **"Oh she is? That's good news!"**

 **"No! No it's not! She's two months early! I've heard nothing it's been hours! ….. She's in trouble I can feel it"**

 **"Shadow… these things take time… She's a medic, I'm sure she knows what she's doing"**

 **"Finn, she could be-"**

 **"I'm 100% certain she's fine… Some labours can take 24 hours! Some even longer-"**

 **"Oh Chrysler my friend is dead"**

 **"No… Shadow that's not what I-"**

 **"I need to make sure she's okay!"** She announced again, reversing quickly and going to turn, before Finn dived into her path, a stern look on his face.

 **"I'm afraid I have to put my tire down. You cannot get involved here. Leave her be, and she'll call you when she's ready"**

 **"But-"**

 **"No 'Buts'... Come along, Shadow… I need you to help me with some mission details"** He said with another stern tone, one he rarely used with Shadow, though let her know when he was being serious.

 **"...Alright.."** Came the reply, before Shadow was unwillingly carted off, watching the Medical bay with worry etched on her face.

The day passed slower than it ever could have done, Wren's sudden absence being felt throughout CHROME. For most, it felt like they could come and go from the medical bay freely now, with no stares or feeling intimidated by the giant plane, though for Shadow, it was more like the day from hell. She wanted to know Wren was okay… why hadn't Skipper called? Finn noticed each time that Shadow wistfully looked to the door, deliberately keeping her distracted enough to stop her from leaving. When it came round to finishing time, Finn was quick to say that he had dinner planned early, leaving with Shadow in tow before she had a chance to argue. Throughout the evening, the Celica was quiet, and it was fair to say that the Faultless was beginning to get a little worried about her. She was usually at least happy looking, not letting much phase her, and he always found her happiness infectious. Though now, she was lazily pushing her dinner around her plate, not having said anything for a few hours. He watched her for a moment, a slight sigh leaving him as he went to speak, when the shrill call of the dreaded phone once more went off, causing both cars to jump. Shadow's reaction was immediate, making a dive for the phone, though was abruptly cut off by Finn, whom had been closer anyway.

 **"Keep it together Carlisle"** He said quickly to her, nudging her away before he answered. Finn's reactions to the caller were minimum, the older agent giving nothing away as Shadow circled nervously… was it Wren? She tried to creep in closer, though each time, Finn would move away again, her engine causing too much noise to be able to hear properly. Not too long after, he put the phone down, turning to her and smiling gently.

 **"Who was it?"** She asked, trying to remain cool for the moment, Finn's body language giving nothing away.

 **"Skipper"** He said with a soft smile, beginning to move away from her. Shadow's eyes widened immediately, launching into a set series of questions.

 **"Is it Wren? Is she ok? Has she had the babies? Are they all alright? What's going on?"** She blurted, though Finn once more said nothing, watching him move toward the front door. He glanced over to Shadow for a moment, another smile.

 **"You coming then?"**

The Celica didn't need asking twice, rushing forward and following her mission partner out the door, and outside within minutes. Finn traveled at a leisurely pace, with Shadow pulling forward, then stopping and waiting… then pulling forward again and stopping and waiting…. Being repeated over and over until they hit the driveway that led up to Wren's hangar, the Celica bolting forward and pausing, thinking that hammering the door down might not be the best idea. Her tire hovered over the door, before softly rapping on it, much to Finn's surprise. Moments later, Skipper answered, looking tired and worn out… but happy. A smile was etched on his face despite the clear lack of sleep, the car looking to him with questions clear on her face.

 **"She's in the bedroom… stay quiet though… mother and babies are sleeping"** He said in a hushed gentle tone, leading the two cars into the hangar now. Shadow followed the Corsair closely, finally spotting Wren in the bedroom as he moved away to let Shadow through. Nestled around the SuperCorsiar were four small babies, all sleeping also, occasional flicks of their rudders occurring in their dream state. Shadow smiled, seeing the peaceful scene before her…. It instantly made her feel broody. She slipped forward, keeping quiet in order not to wake any, Finn paused in the doorway with Skipper.

 **"Two girls and two boys…"** Skipper started, as Finn glanced up with a casual smile.

 **"You must be ever so proud"** The agent spoke in a low tone, to which Skipper nodded.

 **"Oh I am… Very much"**

Shadow approached the sleeping planes carefully, hearing the soft chirps of the babies as they wriggled a little, one apparently trying to get comfortable and disturbing its siblings. One of the lighter coloured babies opened her eyes after a few moments, spying the Celica in front of them from her position on the giant pillow that they were all laying on. Within moments, she was chirping a little louder, kicking her small tires out in surprise, slipping forward as she did so. Within seconds Shadow was there, using her hood to catch the falling baby and push her gently back under Wrens wing. In delight, the baby made a small gurgle, before sucking on Shadow's hood slightly, much to her amusement. Meanwhile, Finn and Skipper watched from the door, the older agent watching the Celica with a fond expression, having inched forward slightly. He wanted to join Shadow… though something held him back. Skipper, having seen the hesitation, nudged the car, motioning with his nose to join his companion to have a closer look. The Faultless approached slowly, slipping next to Shadow as she rolled back, trying to get the baby to stay in place.

 **"Finn they're adorable…. "** She whispered, her eyes unable to tear away from all the small planes, Finn's smile only increasing when he saw the look on her face.

 **"They are… you're right"** He replied just as quietly, though he seemed more focused on watching her reactions as she cooed over them. Wren stirred now, opening her eyes slightly before seeing the cars stood before her, stretching out her elevators to ease the cramping. Shadow saw the movement, and looked up to Wren, her smile growing.

 **"Hey! How you feeling?"** She asked carefully, her eyes dropping constantly to watch the babies.

 **"Like I've been hit with a LOT of cricket bats…."** Wren groaned, though there was a smile playing at her lips.

 **"You had an escapee… Though the amazing Auntie Shadow saved the day"** Shadow smiled, causing Wren to chuckle tiredly.

 **"Hmm… getting into trouble already… wonder where they get that from…"** She replied, shooting Skipper a glance, who only smiled in response. A moment passed, before two of the corsairs started making noises, one beginning to wail a little as Wren shifted slightly.

 **"Feeding time again… Do you want to help with this one Shadow?"** Wren offered, Shadow's face lighting up as she drew in close to nuzzle at the dark baby making the most noise. Finn backed off, understanding the sentence, and proceeded to move toward Skipper, leaving them both in privacy. Skipper moved also, the pair moving through the house and outside now, giving both of them enough room to move freely.

 **"I must congratulate you on becoming a father old boy… it's something that most of us would love to be"** Finn said, giving Skipper a firm nod with his hood.

 **"It was about time…. Time is fleeting you know. If you have your eye on someone… you should make a move and enjoy life"** The Corsair responded, looking up to the evening sky. The Faultless stayed silent for a moment, a series of emotions running through him.

 **"I don't want to spoil Shadow's chances at a good career"** He sighed, looking away down the driveway path again.

 **"Heh… I never mentioned Shadow"** The plane replied, causing Finn to widen his eyes just a little, before resuming his normal posture…. He'd completely given the game away.

 **"You know… I loved Wren…. And we made it work without compromising her goals. Now… she's given me more than I ever imagined"** Skipper spoke on, his tone more gentle than usual. The agent cast his gaze over to his companion, eyeing him carefully to find out what the plane could be hinting at, despite the fact he believed he already knew.

 **"Work is work… Some things are more important. Have you ever stopped to think about what Shadow wants, rather than what you think is right? After all…a very smart Celica taught me that"** Skipper carried on with a smirk, watching Finn's reaction as he dropped his gaze, unsure of how to argue his point. After several moments of silence, the two males headed back inside, to see that the feeding had finished, and Shadow was making her way out the room. Skipper went to Wren immediately, nuzzling her nose and soothing her gently, Shadow watching them rather wistfully. They made a nice little family, and a longing feeling filled the Celica as she watched… little to her knowledge, but Finn was also watching. Though he wasn't watching the quiet family scene like she was. The whole visit had set his mind thinking, as he studied the longing gaze on Shadow's face.

Maybe Skipper was onto something….


	10. Chapter 10

**Date: November 8th 2013**

 **Location: CHROME**

As the year was shifting on, the usual English chill had begun to set in, mostly getting colder in the early days of October, the leaves beginning to stick to the floor in wet clumps, the continuous rain causing drains to flood and the streets to empty. The rain hammered against the CHROME building windows, Shadow gazing out, lost in her own world as it thought of the last few months. It had certainly been… interesting. Any feelings that Finn may or may not have held for Shadow seemed long gone, the Faultless not so much as daring to make another move toward the younger agent, their previous encounters having not ended well. Wren had returned to work in the last week or so on reduced hours, with Skipper home to watch the babies and care for them when she was away, though Wren was doing most her paperwork at home. A quiet peace had fallen across the building, save for the idle chatter that echoed across the more vacant halls, the storm clouds outside plunging the building into a dimmer light, the fluorescent lights doing little to combat the darkness. Shadow's office had moved, having impressed Angry to be moved out of her 'Beginner' office on the bottom floor, now being given a larger and more impressive office on the third floor, Finns office being directly opposite on the other side of the building. Small glass panels acted as railings on the walkways, to stop the cars from rolling off the edge and down to the floor below, the champagne carpets presenting a nice light change to the dark and dingy dark blue of the offices on the bottom floor.

The Celica had just come off of a two week mission with Finn, the pair taking the next few days to chill out a little before being thrown in again. She could tell that Finn was glancing over constantly, having noticed the Celica's absent minded staring, the new office position enabling him to keep more of an eye on her. Moments later, she was moving again, out the office and predictably moving to her right, which would lead to the Medical Bay. Finn watched her until she vanished, a gentle sigh leaving him at this point as he considered following.

The medical bay was bustling with activity, for once Shadow not being the focus of the latest explosion, several nurses and doctors rushing round with tools and appliances. Rolling past Wren's office, the plane could be heard loudly exchanging words with someone apparently not in the room, and this was enough for Shadow to prize the door open and slip into the head medic's office, glancing to the SuperCorsair as she stood over her phone, staring at it with hatred.

 **"It's just a couple of nights! Plus, the kids have barely seen you!"** Wren spoke loudly, glancing to the Celica as she closed the door behind her. There was a sigh from the recipient on the other end of the line, as Shadow recognised the voice as Wren's mother.

 **"Darling, you know I can't. I just have a lot going on…"**

 **"You always have a lot going on! These are your grandkids we are talking about!"**

 **"I know, but you have to understand that some of us are busy Wren"**

 **"Too busy to see family? No, you're not! You're just too occupied with living your fancy life with your dinner parties and cocktails to even consider seeing the kids! Thanks for nothing"** The SuperCorsair snapped, before stamping on the lever to end the call. The plane sat for a few moments, staring to the phone once more with a scowl, before finally remembering the car that was watching her intently, slowly eating her way through a biscuit that Wren honestly didn't know how she had obtained.

 **"Whaaaaaatcha doing?"** Came the eventual question, the SuperCorsairs cowling flaring a little. There was no answer, however, as Wren simply moved to her desk, and flopped her nose on top of it, her paperwork scrunched beneath it.

 **"Hmm…. Never a good sign. Come on… out with it"** Shadow sighed herself, knowing this reaction wasn't normal for the plane. Wren barely glanced in her direction, flitting her gaze between the Celica and the phone again. The plane made no sound, causing Shadow to frown a little, and then slowly move to the desk and start batting at Wren's propellor blades, spinning them round and round until Wren frowned.

 **"Okay, Okay enough!"** Wren said tiredly, lifting her nose a little, though there was a faint smile on her face.

 **"I've been nothing short of selling my soul to try and get someone to watch the kids for the weekend... It's all very last minute. Skipper and I have to take an urgent flight to America"** She spoke again, causing Shadow to frown a little.

 **"America? Why?"**

 **"Skippers mum died last night… Her funeral is in three days and Skipper is desperate to go. He was always close to his mother you know...his father on the other wing is a drunken, gambling twat"** She seemed to seethe for a moment, before shaking her nose. **"Skipper had a… rough childhood, but his mother was always there to protect him whilst his father was drunkenly slamming into walls and doors… It was an idea that perhaps he could go alone, but it'd be incredibly hard for him... he's made it very clear that he loathes his father… And his brother is a nasty piece of work too. He'd be VERY alone..."**

A silence fell between them as the information sunk in… she felt rather bad for Skipper at this point, not even realizing he had family still around. It was here, an idea formed in her head, though she knew full well that Wren wasn't going to be crazy about it.

 **"Hey…. Wren…. Hypothetically speaking… what if an agent where to look after your kids? They would be in great tires, right?"**

 **"... Depends which agent you're talking about"**

 **"Oh come on Wren! I can do it! You can trust me!"**

 **"It's not that I don't trust you Shadow… it's that it's a big favour to ask, babies that young are a lot of work… and there are four of them!"**

 **"Wrem, I can handle it! Seriously! CHROME has trained me to take on the most dangerous missions possible… I can handle some babies"** The Celica reasoned here, to which Wren sighed a little.

 **"...They are a LOT of work Shadow… Baby Corsairs are no drive in the park… and you're a car!"**

 **"Wren…. It'll be fine. I promise"**

 **"Well…. Fine. Okay. But… I'd rather you have someone there with you… they give both me and Skipper the run round even when there's two of us"**

 **"Okay well…. What if Finn came to help?"**

 **"Help with what?"** Came the deeper voice of the older agent, as he had heard his name being mentioned in passing, having made the delayed choice to follow his younger partner. Shadow turned to see Finn in the doorway, her smile growing.

 **"Wren and Skipper need to go to a funeral in America… we can look after their kids!"** She exclaimed, causing Finn to move his gaze from the Celica to Wren.

 **"Please, Finn. I'd feel much better if you helped her… Plus I know that you'd do a good job…"** Wren seemed to say, eyeing Finn for a second. A moment seemed to pass where both vehicles looked at one another… Something going unsaid that Shadow didn't know about, before Finn nodded his hood.

 **"Of course Wren, no problem"** He smiled to her, causing Wren to smile tiredly back.

 **"Thank you both…. Come by at around seven tonight… I'll give you a run down on everything"**

Shadow was first up the driveway, seeing the glistening lights of Wren's hangar from some way away had made the Celica more excitable and bolt forward, Finn coming up behind her with his usual smile on his face. On numerous occasions in the journey, he had deliberately slowed his speed right down, in order for her to slow down aswell, despite the fact he was rather looking forward to seeing the kids again himself. Skipper answered the door, amazed to see Shadow actually using the front door for the second time, blinking a little before letting them in. As Finn had suspected, Wren was in a little more of a flap than usual, knowing that this was the first time she'd actually left the kids for any extended period of time. Skipper was trying his best to keep her as calm as he could, all whilst packing the last of their bits for the journey, though this was perhaps a little in vain, as he himself didn't look too great. Shadow could tell that he was emotionally torn up, not even being his grumpy self, just down, deflated and sullen. Once Wren had taken a moment to calm herself, she pulled Shadow to the side, beginning to run through the instructions of their routine.

 **"Okay, so, they've all had a bath, so that's sorted, and we've fed them and settled them off to sleep. There's plenty of oil in the kitchen for them, you just need to warm it up for them in warm water. Don't forget to test it first, because you don't want to burn their mouths. They will want feeding every three hours, and they must have a dummy to get off to sleep, it's good for their breathing. Don't forget to let them have a little time on the floor, as they need to strengthen their landing gear, but not too long otherwise they'll get upset. If they get in a mess with their food, you'll probably need to bath them, but only one at a time, as it's chaos otherwise. Bedtime is 8pm but they might fuss around midnight for a top up feed…"** Wren instructed, the Celica nodding as she took in all the information.

 **"It's alright Wren, we can handle this"**

 **"...I've left a list of numbers on the fridge to call, should you need to call us at the hotel, and there's a friends number on there from medical school, should something happen to the kids…"** Wren nodded to Shadow, to which the Celica smiled in response.

 **"Oh, and I've written down all those instructions for you too"**

 **"Wait… so you didn't have to just babble all the way through that?"** The car seemed to smirk, though she gave Wren a reassuring smile after.

 **"It'll be fine…. Go and get sorted. Now. Go"** Came the rare instruction from Shadow, to which Wren seemed to gladly obey. Skipper had meanwhile stopped Finn to make sure everything was clear, to which the agent assured the male Corsair that yes, things would be fine and it's all ok. It was here, as the two conversed, that Skipper found Wren lingering in the nursery, watching the babies sleep peacefully, a torn look on her face. Skipper moved slowly up to her, giving her a small nuzzle and watching them himself, both parents taking the time to stay in this moment for a little bit, Finn watching from the doorway with a small smile on his face. It must have been nice to have a complete little family… He found his thoughts were wondering, and snapped them back to the situation at hand, as Skipper slowly prized Wren away from their children's bedside. It took around 10 minutes more to finally get outside, with Wren constantly looking back to the house and bidding her farewells to Shadow and Finn, though still hesitant to leave. She was unsure, though as she looked back to Skipper finally, she knew in her heart that they had to leave…. Skipper needed her. Shadow watched them from the doorway, watching until they had both vanished, and even then not shifting from the doorway for a while, until Finn nudged her gently.

 **"She looked so torn up Finn…"**

 **"I know… but that's the bond between parent and baby at work there… it's hard for her to leave them behind"** He explained gently, to which Shadow closed the door gently.

 **"I guess I just never expected to see her like that..."** Shadow spoke again, watching Finn as he moved toward the kitchen, and opening the fridge. A small chuckle seemed to emerge from him, causing her to draw in closer, having a peek to see what was so amusing. He leaned over, showing her that Wren had indeed left them some dinner… with step by step instructions on how to cook it. At this, Shadow chuckled, shaking her hood lightly.

 **"You know she's a complete nutter, right?"** She laughed, causing Finn to smile back.

 **"She's just making sure everything is covered… As we were just saying, it can be hard for a mother to leave her children"** Finn reminded her, to which Shadow nodded a little.

 **"Yeah… she is very motherly isn't she…"** Shadow started, though seemed to frown lightly, dropping her gaze. **"I… I've always kinda wondered what that felt like… you know, to have a close bond with my mother…"** She then added quietly, causing Finn to gaze back in slight horror, having realized the emotional trauma that this conversation could present her, reminding her of her dark past and lack of family. He felt awful in that moment, knowing that he was one of the only ones to know of how deeply her past still affected her, and thought quickly on his tires to try and make it better.

 **"Hey, at least you're not old"**

 **"You're not old Finn…."**

 **"Do you wish to bet on that? I'm 48, and I think I'm going grey…."**

 **"Finn… your paint scheme is grey. You're not 'turning' grey"**

 **"Is someone getting smart with me?"**

 **"Finn I don't have to be smart to know that you're being a fool"** She smiled to him, laughing a little. **"Age never mattered to me"** She added, before she distracted him by raising her tire up, and using the other to steal the dinner from his grasp. He was quick to use a grappling and snag her back axle, preventing her from running away. Shadow then returned the gesture, her magnet activating on her tires as she swung to round to try and deter the older agent, though he only blocked the attack with his own tire. They seemed to watch each other for a moment, an unspoken truce settling on them as they grinned to one another, knowing they were rather evenly matched in this tight space. As Finn turned to start working Wren's oven, Shadow couldn't help but smile gently, noting how quickly the Faultless had managed to make her happy again… and perhaps made her feel a little special inside.

Meanwhile, Wren and Skipper were well on their way, taking the long several hour flight to America, though Wren was still rather uneasy. She was trying her best to hide her doubts and fears, knowing Skipper already felt guilty about pulling her away from the kids, plus the fact that he was in England when his mother passed, she didn't want to make him feel worse. The scenery passed below them slowly, despite their fast speed in the air, and Wren could see the distance they had yet to cover… it was going to be a long night. Not much had been said since their departure, with nothing much to say but the occasional check to the others well being. Wren would often flick her gaze over to the grief stricken husband, to see him staring straight ahead each time… paying no heed to anything around him. The SuperCorsair eventually cleared her throat, trying to get some sort of conversation out of him.

 **"Have you contacted your brother yet? To say that you're coming?"** She asked in a gentle tone, knowing full well what he thought of his sibling. The male plane only rolled his eyes and groaned to start with, a frown forming as he continued to stare ahead.

 **"I called him, yes. But I was met with one worded answers and general rudeness...But that's Hunter for you"** Came the reply, before both planes fell silent again. Nothing save for the sound of their props beating the air and their engines filled their ears for a little while, before Wren continued.

 **"I guess that means we won't be staying in the family home, huh?"**

This earned a snort from the male, which in turn made Wren smile a little.

 **"No, we're staying with an old navy friend of mine that lives close by… I might also go out and have too much to drink with said navy friend, numb my head a little"** Skipper grumbled slightly, though Wren only smiled a little more.

 **"It's alright…. I'll look after you"** She assured him, as both planes banked a little, continuing on their long trip.

Giggles and baby chirps could be heard echoing through the hangar, Wren's two boys, Valiant and Chance were practically bouncing on the spot on their landing gear, Finn gently batting and dragging them around slowly in a mock play fight. He was pushing them back slightly, then blowing in their face to make them squeal a little, before dragging them all over again and letting them bite at his lights. Shadow was off to the side, watching with a smile on her face as Finn continued to play gently with them, having not seen Finn interact with kids that much before, but seeing a whole new side to him. It was almost as if the Agent was made to have kids… and it led her to wonder the exact reason as to why Finn never settled down. Other agents had family… would it be that he simply didn't want to risk a family, or something else? In her wondering, Finn happened to notice her watching, giving a slightly sheepish smile. Whilst he wasn't looking, Chance became slightly rough with his brother, nipping his tail pretty hard and causing Valiant to cry out, his wails filling the hangar loudly. Before Shadow had a chance to react, Finn was there, fussing over the small plane and shushing him quiet. The whole scene made Shadow's heart practically melt, not knowing that Finn was this way with children.

 **"I never knew you were this good with kids… you'd make a great dad one day"** Shadow spoke gently, causing Finn to look up suddenly. Despite her compliment, Finns face had fallen, and he didn't seem so happy to hear this. Shadow became a little confused, and couldn't understand why what she had said would seem like a bad thing, beginning to feel… like he was almost upset? She hesitated now, unsure what she had said, before Finn resumed his smile, glancing to her with a reassuring look.

 **"Thank you… It means a lot to me"** He responded finally, though Shadow looked away at the point… She wasn't sure anymore. A glance at the clock revealed that it was actually time for another feed for the kids, to which Shadow found a large pillow to settle herself on with the two girls, Finn helping arrange the boys next to her before warming up the oil as Wren instructed. It was amusing to see Shadow lined up with the baby Corsairs… there would be a time when they were just as big as her… and probably only a few months old. She glanced up as Finn came back in, handling four bottles with ease by balancing them on his hood.

 **"Remember to test the temperature… I really don't fancy another lecture off Wren"** She smirked a little, causing Finn to smile and then test it on his tire. Without thinking, he licked it off, to which Shadow stared for a moment.

 **"What was that?"**

 **"What was what?"**

 **"Finn…. That's stuff that came from my friend…. She produced that… Why would you lick it off?"** She exclaimed, causing Finn to laugh at her a little.

 **"It's fine Shadow… we all used to do it"** He assured her, moving to the two boys at her side and beginning to feed one of them, the other squeaking and opening his mouth to also be fed. The girls reacted too, making Shadow turn her attention to them and using the newly warmed bottles to feed them too. Juggling four Corsairs between the two of them was difficult, though they finally managed to get all babies fed, despite the fact that they were probably half wearing the oil they should have given them. Four very splashy baths later, and the kids were once more settled in bed, dozing and chirping lightly. Shadow seemed to hang by the bedside for a little while, watching them snuggle together in a rather large baby pile, before Finn came to coax her away, suggesting that it was time for them to sleep aswell seeing as it was nearly 2am. With reluctance, the Celica agreed, being led away and closing the door quietly, before following Finn to Wren's bedroom, though almost running into him as he abruptly stopped. It was a thought that had only just dawned on him, as he stared at the one bed that inhabited the hangar…. Of course there was only one bed. Wren and Skipper were married! Shadow also spotted this, and there was a moment where both cars seemed to decide what to do, before Finn cleared his throat.

 **"I can stay in the front room… you'll be nearer to the kids here-"** He began, before Shadow waved a tire at him.

 **"It's a bed made for two planes… we'll be fine!"** She assured him, causing him to smile in response. She made it sound easy. With little words left, the two vehicles went about settling into the bed, Shadow laying on the left, with Finn on the right, a considerable gap between them. The thought of sleeping in the same room as Finn tickled Shadow for a moment, but they would sometimes have to sleep close together on missions, so this was really no different. Sleep came easy enough, both cars settling down for the night despite the cold, with it being outside, the hangar walls were slightly less insulated than their nice warm flat 30 minutes away. It was for this reason, that Shadow seemed to get chilly through the night, subconsciously moving closer and closer to the nearest source of warmth in her sleep… which happened to be Finn.

The Faultless awoke early the next morning, to see that Shadow had infact snuggled right into his side, breathing evenly as she slept peacefully. The older agent froze, unsure as to how to deal with the situation, not wanting to disturb her sleep, knowing how hard it was for her sometimes, and trying to put his professional outlook. In the eyes of CHROME… this probably wouldn't be most appropriate… though his own feelings for the Celica were coming into play as he felt her stretch out against him, her engine giving a small contented purring as it did so, which softened his expression and allowed her to stay put, leaning against her gently as he continued to doze himself.

They stayed like this for a while, until the shrill cry of a baby Corsair shook the hangar, causing the Celica to awaken with a small jump, taking a second or two to work out where she was, before realizing she was essentially cuddled into her boss, suddenly springing away, her engine revving as she did so startling Finn awake also. The Toyota had flushed a deep red, looking to Finn rather awkwardly as she hesitated at the side of the bed, wondering if he had noticed her there… he'd been asleep as she'd woken up… so perhaps not….

 **"Shadow? Are you alright?"**

 **"...Uh, yeah…. Yeah… "** She answered, looking away rather embarrassed. Finn seemed to avoid her gaze for the moment, slightly cursing himself for not having moved her…. Though inside, he was feeling a little more dismayed at her own reaction. She had clearly not meant to do that…. Who was he kidding? She'd never like an old car like him anyway.

So for now…. Decided to keep quiet about his feelings


	11. Chapter 11

**Date: 01:48 November 9th 2013**

 **Location: Mankato, Minnesota**

It was the early hours in the morning by the time Wren and Skipper touched down, finally able to relax after their long flight over the Atlantic. A lot of it had been spent in silence, considering the heavy toll that the death had played on Skipper, though Wren knew better than to push for conversation. At the end of the runway, Wren spied a fellow ex-navy corsair, Skipper confirming her suspicions of him being a friend of her husbands when he started to head over. There was a brief moment where they both shared condolences, before Skipper announced that he would rather like to get drunk, which led to the three of them heading to a nearby bar, Wren giving Skipper cautious glances. However, as the hours ticked by, the alcohol wasn't having the desired effect that the Corsair wanted, and he ended up going quieter and quieter.

 **"I'm…. sorry for Skipper's behaviour… he's just not himself right now"** Wren ended up apologizing to his friend, to which he waved a wing a little in her direction.

 **"Don't worry about it. It's a tough time he's facing here. Just make sure he doesn't mope forever, eh?"** He replied, to which Wren smiled gratefully. It wasn't long after this that they decided to call it a night… the funeral was the next day, so they at least had to be awake enough to attend.

The next morning brought about it a dull and cloudy sky, the spatters of rain hitting their backs as both Corsairs made their way to where the funeral was to take was aware that Skipper hadn't slept much, if at all… and it was evident by how rough he looked and the fact he has barely said two words since waking up. She touched her wing to his side in a gentle manner of encouragement, earning her a flick of his gaze, though it was hard to say what he was thinking. There was almost an unspoken tension that seemed to crawl around his frame, though Wren knew it wasn't aimed at her, but more what was to come. The gates to the graveyard started to loom above them, Wren pausing to glance over them, the eerie atmosphere there rain and clouds added to the place seemed to make her a little uncomfortable. Skipper glanced up as she paused, immediately growing agitated at the sight he saw ahead. His father and brother seemed to be some way inside, looking to be talking with one another quietly, having not noticed Skipper or Wren as of yet. The cream SuperCorsair finally spotted them herself, and took this moment to quickly block her husband's path, giving him a reassuring gaze.

 **"Remember… this is your mother's funeral… not a fight. I know your childhood wasn't easy and that you father has a lot to answer for… but now is not the right time"** She reminded him gently, to which he finally broke the firm gaze he had been holding with his brother, to now look at her. He found that her face was more warm and friendly than what awaited him over there…. Though it was also a reminder of the family life he had now, which caused him to smile a little, rubbing his nose against hers gratefully.

The funeral itself didn't last long… it appeared that not many others turned up, and it made the ceremony rather short. Though it was probably a good thing… the three males were all visibly tense, though Skipper remained quiet through out, clearly keeping his emotions in check as his face was blank and unfocused. He seemed determined not to show anything in front of his brother and father at least. Though once the ceremony was complete, they approached Skipper for the first time, and it was again clear that there was a lot of tension contained between the trio, control surfaces flaring and a lot of piercing stares.

 **"Just try to relax… we don't have to stay long, just make pleasantries… then we can leave"** Wren assured her husband in a low whisper, feeling Skipper begin to lose his composure just a little. She was rather good at picking up on his moods, and knew how to quickly calm the rage. The two family members stopped a few metres away, his father giving Skipper a snort and bop of his nose in a way of a greeting, making no effort to ask after his son, or the new grandchildren that he had. Instead, he more focused on Wren, staring her down and trying to seemingly intimidate the female. Much to his annoyance, not only did she not get warned off by his cold gaze, but she returned it, giving him a stare just as hostile as his. Skippers brother, Hunter, seemed to make a little more effort, clearing his throat as a way to deviate attention onto him.

 **"How are things?"** He began, though it was less of a genuine question, more of a forced statement, the tones of the other never rising or falling to convey emotion.

 **"Couldn't be better. You?"** Skipper answered in a similar way, the cold atmosphere only making it more edgy in their replies. Wren had not ceased her stare, and before long, Skippers father seemed to growl and leave, annoyed at the fact she hadn't broken first. Skipper glanced over as he left, though returned his gaze to his brother as he answered in the same non-interested tone.

 **"Fine. Nothing much going on"**

 **"Hm"**

 **"Mother mentioned that you'd become a father, before she died"**

 **"About a month ago, yes"**

 **"Tch… she never stopped going on about you… always the favourite"** Hunter seemed to snipe suddenly, before turning and leaving to follow their father.

Skipper seemed to wait for a few moments, lingering in place before rolling slowly to his mothers grave, Wren following at a slight distance to let him have space… seeing that her husband was rather cut deep over this. Wren had watched the other two males leave completely, neither seeming concerned at any point to pay more respects to their deceased family member. She turned to look back at Skipper now, another gentle smile coming to her face as she called his name softly, watching as he turned back round slowly and moved toward her.

 **"I'm done… I don't want to be here any more"** He stated, beginning to move to the exit. She nodded and fell beside him, her eyes meeting his as he began talking again.

 **"I want to be back in the company of happy faces… I just want to see the kids again. Hell, i'll even be happy to see Shadow's overly smug face"** He managed, a small smile finally cracking on his face. Wren returned the smile, knowing it was the first joke he'd made in days…. He'd be alright. He was more than eager to get going immediately, not even stopping for rest as they taxied down the runway at the nearest airport, on route home as fast as they could.

Shadow meanwhile had appeared to keep herself very busy up until this point, trying to surround herself with jobs to do to avoid having to have any sort of 'chat' with Finn about what position they'd found themselves in that morning. Though now, as the jobs started to wind down, and the kids settled for their mid-morning nap, Shadow found herself having plenty of time to be really rather awkward around Finn. In an attempt to keep herself distracted, she started making tea for them both, whilst Finn sat in the living room and caught up on their most recent mission notes, jumping just a little as Shadow appeared at his side, smiling gently and offering him his cup. He nodded softly and glanced to the place he wanted her to put it, before noticing the mug she'd put it in…. Having 'Best Dad' scrawled across it. He seemed to chuckle lightly, and Shadow seemed to copy, obviously thinking it was rather amusing, though now she saw his face fall again, and inside she felt terrible. Clearly something was off with how he was acting…. Though she didn't know what. This whole thing about the babies… it seemed to make him act different. She looked away, feeling bad for even having dragged him to this point… it was clear he didn't want to be here. At least that's what it seemed like to her. Despite the elephant in the room, Shadow decided to break the ice just a little, trying to prize out perhaps an explanation as to his odd behavior.

 **"I never knew how good you were with children…"** She started, sitting near to him now. He glanced up from the notes once more at her statement, a brief smile on his face, though she could see… a struggle in his eyes. Something was definitely not right. He didn't appear to want to say anything to begin with, though she waited for the older agent to find the words, another slight smile on his face.

 **"You don't live to be this age and not know how to take care of children, Carlisle"** He said kindly, listening as one of the babies seemed to stir, both cars falling silent as they held their breath…. Luckily the noise died down, and they resumed their conversation.

 **"I know but… you're naturally good. Some cars just.. Aren't"** She said now, watching Finn as he glanced into his cup, seeming to hesitate again.

 **"Well you're good with children too, Carlisle"** He said softly, before the silence fell again.

 **"Did you have… any of your own?"** She asked gently now, watching as Finns gaze flew to her own, the struggle in his eyes once more. She held her breath, strangely, as if waiting for a big development, though slowly let go as he shook his hood lightly.

 **"No. I never did"** He answered here, studying the cup once more.

 **"Did you ever want them?"** She pressed a little now, wanting to know…. Though they were cut off as Valiant started to cry, causing Shadow to raise her hood. Finn was about to rise, when Shadow shot him a smile, touching his side gently.

 **"It's ok… I've got him"** She assured the older agent, to which he smiled and nodded, letting her leave to tend to the Corsair. Finn watched her go, the gentle smile still on his face as he could hear her shushing and gently murmuring to the baby. The sounds stirred the deep longing that he had kept buried for… years. So many years… covering up his own wants and desires to focus on his career, pushing everything down and focusing at what he was good at.

Though now, as he listened to his mission partner, those same feelings were creeping back, tainting the sides of his mind… already fighting hard against his own will when it came to the Celica. He couldn't ruin her career. He couldn't take that away because of what he wanted. Besides… he'd had his chance… he wasn't meant for the life that he kept craving…. But she made it hard. She made him want it all over again.

He seemed to flinch slightly as Shadow reappeared, smiling once more to him as he reciprocated the action, motioning to her cup again.

 **"Best hurry before it gets cold… I'll take the next one"** He said quietly, to which she chuckled.

 **"You're too kind sir"** She smiled, relaxing near him, a replay of the morning playing in her mind, setting a soft blush to form across her hood. The same memories played through Finns mind, though he couldn't help but notice the change in colour on her hood, though busied himself with the mission notes… a feeble attempt to cover his own thoughts.

Night had finally drawn in, two large figures finally making their way up the winding path to the lit hangar, glowing gently against the dark blue backdrop. Wren sighed, glad to finally be home, almost fancying that she could hear the childrens laughter. She shot a look to Skipper, who seemed just as eager to get up the pathway, his pace speeding up the closer he got to the main door. They slid the door open, feeding through one after the other, a scene meeting them that could only prize smiles from their tires bodies. They saw both cars zipping around the front room in a particular pattern, careful to avoid one another as the babies leapt after the cars, laughing and chirping as they did so. Shadow stopped suddenly, Renee wheeling up to the car instantly, to which the Celica then blew a raspberry on the planes back, causing her to shriek out and laugh. Finn seemed to stop also, to avoid running into Shadow, pulling up next to her as the other three tackled him head on, making him laugh as he tried to gently deflect each one.

Skipper and Wren only watched in amusement at the scene, Wren making a personal note to bring this up later…. Finn and Shadow made quite the pair when it came to children…. Something to at least embarrass the Celica with later. Chance raised his nose up upon seeing his parents, shrieking and clambering over Finn to leap to the floor, rushing to the larger Corsairs, who leaned down to nuzzle at their children. Renee, Valiant and Amelia then realized their parents were home, and Shadow watched on as they rushed after Chance to greet their parents. She smiled gently, watching the scene and sighing softly, catching Finns attention. He said nothing as he watched the Celica, Wren also catching the action and eyeing the two cars for a moment, before she moved to the kitchen area, signalling for Shadow to follow.

Once out of ear shot, the SuperCorsair turned to Shadow, giving her a small smile.

 **"I just wanna thank you again, for doing this…"**

 **"Don't sweat it… it wasn't THAT hard"** She smirked, earning an amused huff from Wren.

 **"Of course it wasn't… though you and Finn didn't…."**

 **"...Didn't what?"**

 **"Get explicit… in my bed, right?"** Wren eyed Shadow suspiciously, causing Shadow to choke on her own air.

 **"W-What? No!"**

 **"That reaction isn't exactly… reassuring"**

 **"No… no… No we didn't, I swear. I can't even admit my feelings, what makes you think that we'd just leap to that?!"** Came the retort, though Wren only grinned.

 **"Well, you never know…. Actions speak louder than words…"**

 **"Yeah I'm not doing that Wren."**

 **"Well, in case for whenever you two decide to stop being morons and start getting it on, you know who to come to"**

 **"...Why on earth would I tell you all about it?"**

 **"...I'm your doctor, I need to make sure that you're safe and that you don't break anything"**

 **"...Thanks"**

 **"Welcome"**

Skipper seemed to come through at this point, causing both vehicles to look round and smile slightly, to which Skipper glanced at Shadow.

 **"Thanks. It means a lot that you and Finn did this"** He said now, to which Shadow nodded gently. **"I think Finn's ready to go now, he seemed eager to be on the move... Nothing went wrong did it?"**

 **"Oh, no, I think he just wants to get some more papers done… he attempted to with the kids about but they tried to eat the papers he was working on."**

 **"Ah… yeah they'll do that"**

Shadow found herself laughing a little, though noting how tired Wren and Skipper seemed, she bid her farewell, and met with Finn at the front door, whom was waiting rather patiently. She smiled gently, moving through the door, shooting one last look behind her as she saw Wren and Skipper seem to at last settle down with their kids, an almost longing look on her face. She almost didn't want to leave, though was spurred on when Finn nudged her gently to move. She obeyed, moving once more through the door, driving down the dirt path, a settled silence upon both cars. Shadow pulled ahead a little as they headed toward their flat, Finns gaze once more resting upon her as she did so, having caught the look she gave the family as they left. The same thoughts from earlier came back to him… about what he had wanted so long ago, and could now feel the same feelings seeping into his thoughts. He inwardly scolded himself… yes, Skipper had mentioned Shadow's wants, but right now, he knew that she was too young to be a mother… too young to be tied down… and he was… too old. He had picked wrongly in the past, and that was his own fault… he now couldn't push those same wants and desires onto Shadow… could he? He felt guilty for even thinking it, letting his gaze drop as he bit the inside of his lip. Something had to change… surely?

 **"It'll be late by the time we get back home, so perhaps we should go out for dinner"** Finn said here, breaking the silence and watching Shadow carefully, seeing her slow down a little and pull up more to his side.

 **"Go out?"** She asked here, to which he smiled gently.

 **"It's not the most odd request, is it?"**

 **"Well…. No. Where to?"**

 **"I know this nice little place somewhere near here"** He mentioned, taking the lead now, Shadow sticking more to his side as the cold began to set in, not realizing the drop in temperature until now. They made their way round a couple of corners, before a rather grand restaurant stretched out in front of them, Shadow's eyes widening as Finn began to ascend up the large sloping ramp.

 **"Finn this is.. Hardly a 'little place' as you so delicately put it"** She said now, her eyes wandering over the exterior, taking in the golden sign and towering hotel. It was all lit up and rather swanky looking, the Celica feeling… out of place as she saw the type or cars that swanned in and out of the doorway. Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Jaguars all seemed to float around, talking and muttering in groups, either just inside the lobby or outside smoking. Even Finn fit in rather nicely, though she, being a Toyota, was the only one she could see, stopping as Finn seemed to draw closer to the building. He caught onto her hesitation and turned a little to face her, his normal suave smile on his face.

 **"You look fine… Don't worry"** He assured her, though she remained unconvinced. He held out a tire to her as she looked over the building once more, though she smiled gently as she saw the action, taking his tire shyly and moving forward with him. He made sure she went first through the doors, holding each one open, and making sure she was fully through before following, moving up to the front desk in the lobby, and asking for a table for two. Shadow couldn't keep her gaze away from the interior, attempting to take it all in… to savour the moment. They were then led to a rather large room, littered with a different array of tables, covered in cream table cloths and wine glasses, serviettes atop of small plates. She felt her smile grow, trying to take in the atmosphere and the sight… Finn glanced at her from his side mirror, grinning gently as he witnessed her awe. Their table was up ahead, and both were asked to pull up to the table, and to choose from the wine list. Shadow felt her blank stare must have told Finn that she wasn't even sure of the difference between white and red wine, so he chose one with a rather long and fancy French name, earning a chuckle from her in response.

He shot her another smile as they settled down after the waiter left, the Faultless launching into a conversation about their next mission coming up… it was going to be a long one, but one they could handle. Shadow found herself relaxing as he continued to talk, chipping in here and there. Though the talk turned to Wren and Skipper, and Shadow found herself thinking of the future more… one that she hadn't wanted to speak of before, for fear of jinxing it.

 **"I want what Wren has one day"**

 **"An attitude problem with almost everyone?"**

 **"No! A family. Though don't let her hear you say that"** She smirked, before continuing. **"I knew early on I wanted a family… so I could raise a child a different way to how I was raised… they would always be loved and… I would never do anything to harm them…"** She said quietly, looking to the wine that was now being poured.

 **"You'll make a fantastic mother, Shadow. I don't doubt that…."** Finn responded gently, giving her another smile. **"Never let anyone tell you any different. You're an amazing car Shadow…."**

She felt her hood perk up a little, a shy smile crossing her hood.

 **"You don't have to be nice to me for my sake Finn"** She deflected lightly, causing him to chuckle.

 **"I'm not, i'm being serious. You'll make a great mother… and any man would be lucky to have you"** He commented, causing Shadow to become flustered a little, wondering just where this dinner was going. He could see her reactions, and he smiled gently once more, wanting to tell her… there and then. But he held off… his morals once more pausing what he really wanted to do. He would just make sure that… she was happy. That's something he wanted after all, but it was her happiness, so something that he could make happen without feeling bad. Shadow sensed his hesitation, and smiled once more to reassure him.

 **"You think so?"**

 **"I do… I hope you find him, you deserve that much. You're a good friend, you deserve all the happiness you get"** He answered honestly. Despite the compliment… Shadow felt her hopes dip just a little. He didn't appear to be talking about himself like she had hoped.


End file.
